The Dubai developer Nakheel has signed three contracts worth a combined Dh2.4 billion to build 1,500 new homes within the Nad Al Sheba district.
The company said that the homes will be a mix of villas for lease and for serviced accommodation, which have been split into three packages.
The biggest contract, worth Dh830 million, has been awarded to Abu Dhabi-based Trojan Contracting and is for main community infrastructure works and the construction of 489 villas.
The second, for Dubai-based United Engineering Construction, is worth Dh789m and is for 482 villas and infrastructure, while a Dh781m deal to build 468 villas and infrastructure has been granted to Abu Dhabi’s Metac General Contracting.
A further 100 serviced residences will also be built on the site, but a contractor has yet to be appointed for this element of the project, or for other on-site facilities including a club house, community pool, sports courts and a 30-unit retail centre.
Nakheel initially announced that it would build 900 villas and 100 serviced apartments at the site last year, but has subsequently increased the volume of homes on the plot. It added that the community is likely to be ready by 2018.
Nad Al Sheba sits behind the Meydan One and Meydan Racecourse developments between Al Khail Road and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, where it borders Dubai Silicon Oasis and its own International City project. It is also close to the Nad Al Hammar site, where Wasl Properties has completed infrastructure works and is selling close to 6 million square feet of land, primarily for residential use. These range in size from 12,697 sq ft to more than 226,000 sq ft.
In a statement, Nakheel said that it now has more than 15,000 residential units in the pipeline which it is developing for leasehold income, including the 10,000 new homes at Jebel Ali Gardens announced last week. It also has an existing leasehold stock of 17,000 units.
John Stevens, managing director of Asteco Property Management in Dubai, said that more affordable leasing stock is required in Dubai. It currently manages 13 buildings for Nakheel within the Discovery Gardens community, which he said have very high levels of occupancy. “The only reason they are empty is because we are painting them,” he said.
He argued that there is a need for more affordable accommodation in secondary locations in Dubai.
“There is a growing managerial and junior managerial class [in Dubai]. You need three or four of them for every managing director, and there is a huge demand from them.
“There are always satellites in terms of Ajman, RAK and Sharjah, but then you need to take transport needs into consideration. The population is growing and the city is growing and it needs that segment.”
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