Sharjah's Biggest Developer Arada Makes Dubai Entry

Sharjah’s biggest developer Arada has finally confirmed its entry into Dubai’s property market, acquiring a Dh240 million plot on the Palm to build a Dh1.5 billion luxury project. “This was the last beachfront location with Nakheel (Palm’s master-developer) and we were chosen from the many who were interested in the plot,” said Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, Group CEO of Arada, which is the name behind the Dh24 billion Arada mixed-use project in Sharjah and the all-villa ‘forest’ community Masaar, also in that northern emirate. “We believe the Palm location is one of the best there is - if not best location. This is the right time for us to make an entry into Dubai. It was always the plan that once we set a benchmark within Sharjah, we would move into new markets.” The Dh240 million on the 20,500 square metre plot sets up 2022 as another big year for Dubai real estate. The land, on the island’s East Crescent, will be transformed into a Dh1.5 billion ultra-luxe residential project, the design for which will be unveiled in the second-half of the year. “The project will be specially curated for a post-COVID-19 era,” the CEO said. “It will be end-user focussed and could feature a branded operator. Every touchpoint will be designed based on ‘wellness luxury’. Sometime between the second and third quarter, we will press the button on the offplan sales. The Palm will be a natural fit for Arada, given its upscale leanings as a developer. The company is a joint venture between Basma Group and Saudi Arabia’s KBW Investments. Some of the biggest deals involving Dubai property during 2021 has been on the Palm, with multiple Dh100 million plus villa sales happening. More recently, another super-luxury project ‘Palm Flower’ was announced, with the costliest unit likely to have a Dh200 million price tag. Having made the move in Dubai, the developer’s ambition is to add two more projects in the emirate this year itself. “We are planning to get a lot more aggressive,” said Alkhosaibi. “It’s never easy finding the right sort of location. On other projects, we could consider entering joint ventures.” Arada expects to deliver up to 4,000 new homes each year, the majority being in Sharjah. “We have 5,000 homes under construction and soon, Phase 3 of Masaar will be launched,” said Ahmed Alkhoshaibi of Arada. “This year, we will aim to break Dh3 billion in sales, which will be a nice progression from the Dh2.5 billion we did in 2021, which came from a 38 per cent year-on-year growth.”