Azizi buys Dubai South plot for construction of $3.27bn project

The mixed-use development near Al Maktoum International Airport is at the design stage and will feature, villas, town house as well as hotels and other amenities

Khalifa Al Zaffin, executive chairman of the Dubai Aviation City Corporation and Dubai South, with Azizi Developments chairman Mirwais Azizi at the signing ceremony. Photo: Azizi Developments

Azizi Developments has acquired a large parcel of land in Dubai South to build a mixed-use development worth about Dh12 billion ($3.27 billion) as it continues to expand its portfolio of assets amid a rapid recovery in the UAE’s property market.

The company bought the plot, which measures 139 hectares (15 million square feet), from Dubai South, an aviation and logistics urban master developer in the emirate, Azizi said on Tuesday.

Under the agreement signed on the sidelines of the Cityscape Dubai, Azizi plans to build the mega project, with about 24 million square feet of gross floor area within the Dubai South development, a 145 square km city that includes Al Maktoum International Airport in Jebel Ali.

Azizi, which has yet to reveal the full details of the development, will also be in charge of constructing the project’s infrastructure and road network, it said.

“This sizeable land represents an exceptional opportunity to contribute to the satiation of the exponentially increasing demand for world-class properties in the UAE,” said Mirwais Azizi, chairman of Azizi Developments.

The growing number of investors and end users looking to call Dubai home “solidifies” the emirate’s standing as the world’s centre for business, tourism and innovation, he added.

The acquisition of land in Dubai South is part of Azizi’s plans to spend $15 billion in the next three years on new projects.

The developer is aggressively investing to capitalise on growth opportunities in the emirate and aims to unveil the second-tallest tower in Dubai next year amid booming demand.

The construction cost of the tower — at a “prime location” on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai — may reach $1.36 billion, chief executive Farhad Azizi told The National on Monday.

The property market in Dubai, which last year made a strong bounce back from the pandemic-driven slowdown, has improved further this year.

Dubai’s property market has recorded the most robust performance in the first nine months of the year since 2011, with the volume of transactions increasing by 60 per cent, compared with a year earlier, as a result of the UAE's broader economic recovery.

The Arab world’s second-biggest economy is set to expand this year at its fastest pace in more than a decade, with growth forecasts as high as 7 per cent.

Azizi, which aims to deliver 10,000 units to investors in 2023 after tripling deliveries this year to 9,000, has registered a significant rise in interest on the part of European buyers investing in Dubai’s property market.

A looming recession in Europe, the weakening of the euro and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have supported the accelerated pace of property sales in the emirate, the company's chief executive said on Monday.

Azizi said its latest development in Dubai South will be part of the Golf District, next to Emirates Road, and will provide access to Dubai’s other major motorways.

The planning and design of the project, which is close to Al Maktoum International Airport, has already begun.

The development will feature townhouses, villas, apartments and hotels, among other amenities, Azizi said.