Emaar plans 2 million sq ft mixed-use development in Ras Al Khaimah

Emaar Properties has announced plans to expand into Ras Al Khaimah with a 2 million sq ft hospitality, residential and retail development.

The project’s first phase will include a five-star luxury hotel, serviced residences and a high-end retail precinct across the man-made Al Marjan Island, Emaar announced in a statement today.

Forming part of Ras Al Khaimah’s aim to boost tourist numbers to 3 million by 2025, the project was agreed by Sheikh Khalid Bin Saud Al Qasimi, chairman of Al Marjan Island, and Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties.

Sheikh Al Qasimi said: “This agreement demonstrates the evolution of Al Marjan Island as Ras Al Khaimah’s defining leisure and hospitality destinations. Emaar’s projects will be a qualitative addition to Al Marjan Island’s vision to be positioned in the global map of tourism and investments.

“The hospitality and leisure developments will enhance the competitiveness of Al Marjan Island with truly world-class infrastructure set in an exotic natural setting, creating short- and long term value for all stakeholders.”

Alabbar said: “Al Marjan Island is a spectacular development that will add incredible value to Ras Al Khaimah, which has tremendous potential for growth.

“Through the agreement, we will create a new magnet for investments in the tourism, hospitality and retail sectors supporting the vision of the government to boost the tourism sector and create jobs.

Al Marjan Island has several unique features, including its spectacular location, which will appeal to investors from across the world. We will bring our proven competencies in hospitality, retail and mixed-use developments to this unique master-development.”

Neither Emaar nor Al Marjan revealed the value of the first phase.

Ras Al Khaimah’s hospitality market is outperforming the rest of the UAE, according to a recent report by CBRE, citing occupancy growth of 13.6 per cent during the first nine months of 2016.

Visitor numbers have also grown by 10 per cent year-on-year to 613,000 in the year to September, the report added.

It was recently announced that the emirate would gain two new hospitality brands: a Hilton Garden Inn and a Movenpick hotel, that is also planned for Al Marjan.

Read: Two new hotel openings confirmed in UAE’s RAK

Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah’s first man-made project,  has a development value of over  $1.8bn with 1,500 operational hotel keys and more than 2,000 residential units.

The cluster of four coral-shaped islands is designed to be a tourism and leisure hub.