Abu Dhabi’s Aldar launches Dhs 6bn golf and waterfront project

Abu Dhabi’s biggest developer Aldar Properties has launched a Dhs 6bn mega development called Yas Acres – its largest-ever project.

Located on the northern part of Yas Island, the golf and waterfront project will add 1,315 villas to the emirate.

The nine-hole golf course and member’s country club will be at the centre of the development, along with other amenities such as two schools, five mosques, community retail, an ADNOC petrol station, a yacht club and marina.

Along either side of the golf course will be the Royal Oak residential project which will include four-five- and six- bedroom luxury villas with golf, park and sea views.

The development will also feature two and three-bedroom villas and townhouses.

Villa clusters will include landscaped parks, running and cycling tracks, community pool areas along with playgrounds, sports facilities and BBQ areas.

Prices will start at Dhs 2.9m for a three bedroom townhouse and units are available for purchase by all nationalities.

Once complete, the development will be home to 15,000 residents, Aldar said in a statement.

Aldar’s chief executive officer Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak said: “Yas Acres is compelling for investors looking to buy into the steady returns and future growth of the well-established Yas Island community.

“From the park land and golf course to the beaches, new marina and exclusive yacht club, Yas Acres will set a new standard for villa living in Abu Dhabi. We have designed a complete, sustainable community and are confident buyers will be eager to gain access to these new quality homes.”

The new launch comes ahead of Cityscape Abu Dhabi, the emirate’s largest property exhibition which begins this week.

Abu Dhabi’s property market has cooled this year in line with an oil-linked economic slump in the emirate. The value of villas across the residential investment submarket fell by 1.4 per cent year-on-year in Q1 2016, a report by Cluttons found. This pushed the average price per square foot to Dhs 1,250.

“The deflation in residential values reflects growing caution in the market, which is being compounded by low levels of demand,” said Cluttons Abu Dhabi head Edward Carnegy.

Read: Abu Dhabi residential, office rental declines forecast as slump continues