Aldar Properties is pinning its expansion strategy across retail, residential and hotels over the next five years on an improving economy.
"We have 23 projects in the pipeline for sale and lease in residential, retail [and other segments] across the emirate, though most of our land bank is within Abu Dhabi city," said Talal Al Dhiyebi, the executive director of asset management at Aldar. He did not provide any other details.
The Abu Dhabi government-owned company also has 77 million square metres of land spread across the emirate.
The developer, which owns all seven hotels on Yas Island, is assessing options for resorts and hotels in the Western Region and Al Ain.
Abu Dhabi’s hotels sector had a reasonable performance in the first half of the year. Hotels reported occupancy levels of 77 per cent, up from 71 per cent a year earlier, even as tourist numbers increased 28 per cent year-on-year to 1.7 million.
“We have seen the take-up in the hotels, the increase in the number of passengers at the Abu Dhabi airport, businesses expand and a significant increase in the demand for office space this year compared to last year, which means job creation and demand for residential and retail sectors,” Mr Al Dhiyebi said. “The market is picking up in a healthy and sustainable manner.”
The IMF in July revised its forecast for the UAE economic growth rate this year to 4.8 per cent, second only to Qatar in the Gulf region.
At its Gate Towers development, the company has leased 75 per cent of the 1,200 units it has held for recurring investment. It had sold the remaining 2,300 units.
During the second quarter, the average residential rental rates in Abu Dhabi increased by 12 per cent year-on-year, while sales prices rose 9 per cent, according to the consultancy Colliers International. There was also a shortage of 51,000 units, or 21 per cent of the supply, in the sector. In the commercial real estate market, there was an excess of 198,000 square metres, or 7 per cent of the supply.
Meanwhile, Aldar is on track to open its 2.5 million sq feet Yas Mall in November. It has already leased out 95 per cent of its 400 retail units. Along with Chalhoub Group, which will operate its largest department store in the region at 200,000 sq ft, the mall will have a 20-screen Vox Cinemas, a Lego store from Majid Al Futtaim and a Cheesecake Factory, among others. Aldar owns eight other malls.
“Abu Dhabi had lacked a quality retail destination and that’s the gap Yas Mall will fill,” he said.
It launched Al Hadeel and Ansam, the first residential project on Yas Island, earlier this year.
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