Sowwah will open to foreign buyers

ABU DHABI // GCC nationals will be allowed to own homes and offices on Sowwah Island while other foreigners will be able to acquire 99-year leases on property there, the Government announced yesterday. Observers said the decision to designate the island as an investment zone would broaden the market for property in Abu Dhabi at a time when sales have slowed because of the global financial crisis. "By making it an investment zone, they are allowing foreign companies to come in and acquire buildings on an investment basis," said David Dudley, the head of the Abu Dhabi office for the property consultancy Jones Lang Lasalle.

"It broadens the extent of ownership for these properties, which is good in this market." Located between the shores of the Beach Rotana hotel and Reem Island, Sowwah Island is to be the centre of Abu Dhabi's new business district. It will house the new headquarters of the Abu Dhabi Securities Market and a hospital, the Cleveland Clinic. Sowwah Square, which includes four office towers, will come online in late 2010 and introduce 450,000 square metres of office space into the market.

John Thomas, the executive director of Mubadala Real Estate & Hospitality, described the investment zone status as "a historic and rare opportunity for local and international institutions and private investors to acquire a stake in Abu Dhabi's strategic new commercial heart". Earlier this week, he called the island "a Manhattan in the making" that would be the home of 30,000 residents and 80,000 office workers by day when it is complete.

The island will have 13 bridges, each designed by a different architect, to facilitate large daily commutes from Reem Island and Abu Dhabi island. Mubadala is developing the island with John Buck International, a joint venture it created with the John Buck Company in the United States. The island will have "the best office space in the Middle East", Mr Thomas said. Sowwah Island will be Abu Dhabi's ninth "investment area", joining Reem Island, Raha Beach, Lulu Island, Al Reef, Yas Island, Saih as Sidirah, Saadiyat Island and Masdar, according to the Urban Planning Council.

The 2005 law that created the investment areas allows citizens of GCC countries to have freehold ownership of property in the nine zones. Foreigners from countries outside the UAE can obtain leasehold ownership of properties in the areas, but cannot own a share of the underlying land. In leasehold arrangements, foreigners can obtain a lease for a period of 99 years. The announcement of Sowwah Island's investment zone status came less than four days before Cityscape Abu Dhabi, a property conference that observers say will help companies to gauge market sentiment.

bhope@thenational.ae