Abu Dhabi // Arzanah, the flagship residential project under development by a partnership between Mubadala and CapitaLand, launched its first phase of sales today. The release of 14 villas and 800 apartments in the Rihan Heights section of the project for sale has commenced. Emiratis who registered at Cityscape will now have a chance to buy in at Arzanah, the developers said. Foreigners will not be allowed to buy into the development, as it is not in a leasehold zone.
The 1.4 million square metre project will be located at the southern end of Abu Dhabi island, in Zayed Sports City. There will be townhouses and apartments for about 18,000 people. At the heart of the project is Zayed stadium, but the project will also include an aquatic centre, bowling alley, ice rink, tennis complex and the UAE's first medical facility dedicated to sport medicine. Mubadala, a government-controlled investment group, unveiled its property and hospitality division at Cityscape Abu Dhabi in May with the goal of taking a large role in the development of the emirate.
The partnership with Singapore-based CapitaLand, called Capitala, will become Mubadala's residential development arm, while another partnership with the John Buck property company in Chicago, called John Buck International, will handle Mubadala's commercial projects. In addition to Arzanah, Mubadala has announced an agreement with KOR Hotel Group to build properties under two brands, The Tides and Viceroy; a partnership with MGM Mirage to build 150 acres of leisure and entertainment facilities in Mina Zayed; and a 570,000 square metre downtown business district with a new headquarters for the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on Sowwah Island.
Mubadala also invested about US$600m (Dh2.2bn) in a large development project in Malaysia called Iskandar. bhope@thenational.ae