Deyaar Development has signed a deal to buy a plot of land in the long-delayed Dubai Maritime City megaproject.
Saeed Al Qatami, Deyaar's chief executive, signed a deal with Khamis Juma Buamim, the chairman of Dubai Maritime City, a Dubai World subsidiary, to buy 70,226 square feet of land on the 227-hectare manmade peninsular between Dubai's Port Rashid and DryDocks World.
Deyaar, the second-largest Dubai-listed developer, said that it planned to build a beachside project on the plot, located in the Dubai Maritime Zone in the Marina District, without giving further details.
“The Dubai Maritime Zone is an exciting new prospect in the emirate’s real estate landscape, and we are pleased to mark our presence there,” said Mr Al Qatami.
“The zone holds a unique character unlike other developments in Dubai, and is all-inclusive — that raises its appeal as a place to visit and live in. The plot is well positioned and will give us an opportunity to build a beachside project, which is new to our portfolio.”
The announcement is the latest sign of activity at what has long been touted as the “world’s largest maritime development”.
The project was first announced in 2003 as a 2.2 million sq metre district including one of the largest marinas in Dubai, a 121-hectare business district for maritime and offshore-related trade, as well as offices, warehouses, academic buildings, hotels, homes and shops.
The marina district was envisaged as a leisure and entertainment hub comprising restaurants, a four-star hotel and waterfront shops.
The project was originally expected to be fully operational by 2012. However, after completing a first phase of marina berths, the project was stalled by the global financial crisis.
The news comes a month after the London-listed Dubai developer Damac announced that it planned to build a luxury seafront high-rise scheme in Dubai Maritime City, including serviced hotel apartments and a leisure area.
“This scheme has been on hold since 2008, but recently we have seen more activity from developers looking to buy land there,” said Matthew Green, the head of research at CBRE’s Dubai office. “From a residential perspective the area is in a good location and likely to offer superb views. However, we would expect the original master planned development to be significantly altered to include more homes and fewer offices or for the phasing to be spread out over a much longer period.”
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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