Nakheel’s recently-unveiled Dubai Waterfront project – considered to be the most ambitious waterfront project in the region – has already garnered interest from overseas and local investors and consortiums, according to Robert Lee, director (development), Dubai Waterfront.
The project, once complete, will transform 81 million sq m of beachfront into a mixed – use development that will encompass more than 250 best-of-the-breed masterplanned communities and offerings.
An unprecedented offering, Dubai Waterfront is bigger than Manhattan and Beirut, and forms the first phase of a larger effort, the Arabian Canal, a 75-km development envisioned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defence.
The Canal flows across the desert while the sweeping arc of manmade islands shelters the nearby Palm Jebel Ali. The harbour provides sea access for trade and entertainment activities and surrounding the harbour is a series of zones with mixed use, commercial, residential, resort and amenity areas.
The masterplan of the Dubai Waterfront is based on a series of 10 zones which range from high and low rise residential, multi-use commercial zones, luxury resort plots, expansive retail and amenity areas. The first phase of Dubai Waterfront will focus on the Madinat Al Arab, a thriving urban downtown metropolis, including Al Burj, one of the world’s tallest buildings.
“Dubai Waterfront aims to the world’s largest waterfront offering, and is located 35 km southwest of Dubai, bordering Abu Dhabi, on the last remaining coastal waterfront of the emirate,” says a spokesman for Nakheel. “Considered the new gateway of Dubai, the project has been carefully crafted and developed by an international consortium of the world’s best architects, planners and urban developers assembled by Nakheel last year, whose goal was to create a destination never before seen in Dubai, or the world.”
The project will entail 900 million cu m of excavation and the construction of some 370 km of internal canals/waterways. Other statistics that the project will boast of include:
• 600 km of roads – further than the distance of Dubai to Bahrain (481 km);
• 5 sq km of coral reef will be created;
• An additional 850 km of new waterfront edge will be formed, which is equivalent to 12 times the existing Dubai coastline (excluding The Palm, Jumeirah).
While detailed conceptual masterplanning has been in progress for the past two years, the project is expected to be developed over the next five to 10 years in phases, with the primary infrastructure to be completed within five years. Work on the project is expected to commence by June with the construction of basic infrastructure. This will comprise three main elements: expansion and extension of the waterfront; roads, electricity, water supply and sewage system; and preparing the site for development work.
The large majority of the development is planned with a low density, targeting residential and tourism and lifestyle entertainment with limited office space. As such, the project is complementary to the other major developments within Dubai.
It will include some 150 to 200 planned hotel plots, some of which will be merged into larger resorts. There are also plans to incorporate a free zone within the Dubai Waterfront.
“With Dubai Waterfront, Nakheel has raised the bar to a never before seen level. We are proud to help realise Sheikh Mohammed’s vision for the Arabian Canal, with this first phase, Dubai Waterfront,” says Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, executive chairman, Nakheel. “It is destined to become a landmark for Dubai, one which will attract tourists, residents, and businesses, and creates a destination like nowhere else.”
“The Dubai Waterfront will be a city in itself and will serve as a unique tourism destination, providing world-class facilities for living, working and recreation. It will form a self-sustaining community comprising of a range of socio-economic groups,” says Lee.
Comprising a balanced mix of residential, retail, hotel, office and industrial offerings, in addition to common areas that will be reserved for educational, cultural, health and recreational purposes, the developers expect at least half a million people to live at the new waterfront destination over a period of 10 to 15 years.
“Everybody is free to invest in the Dubai Waterfront, irrespective of their nationality,” says Lee. “People who have been looking forward to living in a unique waterfront development, with all the latest amenities will form the basic profile of residents of Dubai Waterfront. The development is projected to become a destination that will be acknowledged world over for its uniqueness and architectural quality.”
Strategically positioned to attract people from both Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Dubai Waterfront will be very close to the new international airport that will be built in Jebel Ali. The development will also be in close proximity to the Jebel Ali free zone and port, providing all the infrastructure support required. .
Nakheel is recognised as one of the region’s premier developers, focused on the waterfront, themed communities, golf and retail and is famed for innovative and iconic properties such as The Palm and The World.
While Nakheel is a majority stakeholder in the project – holding 51 per cent of the shares – investors can own up to 49 per cent of the shares in the venture.
“We seek to bring in investors who can add value to the project and attract strategic investors from several backgrounds and capabilities as their collective experience and expertise can contribute in creating a diversified entity,” Lee concludes.
