Aldar Properties, the largest developer in the capital, yesterday signed a deal with three contracting companies to build 5,000 villas for Emiratis in Abu Dhabi, officials said. The contractors are Al Jaber Building, El Seif Engineering and Pembinaan. Construction on the Al Falah project will be finished by the third quarter of 2012. The Dh9.4 billion (US$2.55bn) project will consist of five "villages", each with its own town centre, schools and mosques, Aldar said.
The site, to the east of the Abu Dhabi International Airport, will cover about 1,200 hectares and the project has been designed to "encourage community gathering with a number of open parks that connect the residential, commercial and leisure elements", the company said. "This is an important step in the development of the Al Falah project," said Ahmed al Sayegh, the chairman of Aldar. "Increasing housing availability for UAE families is one of many ways through which Aldar is living up to its mission of building sustainable communities to cater to the growth needs of the emirate of Abu Dhabi."
More than 50,000 homes will be built for Emiratis over the next 20 years, according to the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC). About 30,000 of the houses will be built in Abu Dhabi and 20,000 in Al Ain at an estimated cost of Dh25bn in the first three years. In addition to the 5,000 units in Al Falah, there are plans for 10,500 plots in South Shamkha, about 13,000 in Al Wathba and between 2,000 and 3,000 in central Shamkha.
Both cities suffer from a shortage of housing. Under the plan, Emiratis could be granted the housing free, but a final decision has not been made yet, according to the UPC. "There are already 15,000 applications right now for Emirati buildings," said Falah al Ahbabi, the general manager of the UPC, in an interview in March. "Emirati housing is the most important item for us right now. It is a hot topic."
bhope@thenational.ae
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Scoreline
Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan
Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’
Red Sparrow
Dir: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Egerton, Charlotte Rampling, Jeremy Irons
Three stars
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.