There is no one size fits all style of housing for the Emiratis of the future, a property expert has said.
New communities are being developed with an eye on offering choice and customisation rather than identikit housing for all, Shamsa Al Maeeni, project manager at Abu Dhabi Housing Authority, told The National.
She made her comments at the Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit, which started on Tuesday at Adnec.
A goal of the ADHA is to lessen the distinction between Emirati and non-Emirati neighbourhoods, she said.
She offered Yas Canal as an example. The upcoming project will have housing for nationals and non-nationals with the aim of attracting a diverse range of people who want a more open, rather than private, community.
“The community itself would be mixed between locals and non-locals, and that's what the country is aiming and looking forward in the future,” Ms Al Maeeni said.
“When we come and design a master plan, we try to prevent creating repetitive villas. This is why we have different types.
“We don't want to show that this project, for example, is a national housing project. We want people to blend in with the community and with the surroundings itself.”
Green shoots
New communities are not seen as isolated areas, but rather evaluated on how they fit in with the surrounding infrastructure, she said.
For some communities, this could mean adding a new shopping mall, or increasing the number of mosques to fit residents' needs.
“We normally work with different authorities to provide us the list of the items that are required for that area,” she said.
“They don't only study our master plan itself, but also the context. Cyclist and pedestrian walkability, and the distance between the villa to the retail are all taken into consideration.”
Different areas, different demands
Cultural considerations and preferences play a role between different regions of Abu Dhabi. In Al Ain, Emiratis tend to value privacy.
“We take that into consideration in terms of not only spaces, but also the openings, the windows, the mashrabiya, how we can create the privacy between each villa next to the other,” Ms Al Maeeni said. “In Al Ain we try to have an external majlis, while in Abu Dhabi people don't mind for the majlis to be within the house itself.”
ADHA is promoting villas and other properties that can be customised, with flexibility to expand.
“We study the area, of course, and then we choose what theme would work best in that context. We give room for a future expansion in many of the projects, not only in bedrooms but also for example an external majlis,” Ms Al Maeeni said.
Last year, Abu Dhabi announced a Dh106 billion ($28.8 billion) master plan to develop 13 new residential communities featuring more than 40,000 homes and land plots for Emiratis.
The large-scale housing plan – unveiled in the presence of President Sheikh Mohamed at Qasr Al Bahr – supports a wider drive to enhance the living standards of UAE citizens.
Earlier this year, UAE leaders unveiled a Dh9.5 billion housing aid plan to help build a better future for Emiratis in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, approved a housing assistance package valued at Dh4.21 billion, which will benefit 2,652 citizens across the emirate.
A housing project in West Bani Yas, with 1,659 villas and a cost of Dh7.29 billion, is on track to launch in the second quarter of 2027, and Al Nayfah next quarter.
The National spoke with Bloom Holding chief executive Carlos Wakim about the upcoming communities, which are located in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, such as Al Metlaa, which has 2,243 residential units.
“Public-private partnership is the way to go,” he said. “It has been established for a while in other countries in the region and Abu Dhabi has taken the initiative to start collaborating with private developers three to four years ago.
“This will give a kind of diversity in the approach of how to develop cities and communities, because every developer comes in with his own experience and applies a lot of lessons they have learnt.”
Neither ADHA or Bloom have faced delays so far due to the recent conflict, and anticipate on-time delivery. Most of the projects for Emirati housing are already sold out.
“Every part in Abu Dhabi is in demand, because the government has really thought about the way to develop Abu Dhabi. There was no haphazard development,” Mr Wakim said.
