Dubai
The master-developer of Ras Al Khaimah’s Al Marjan Island has no intention to build anything beyond what it is expected to. That means creating all of the infrastructure at what will be one of UAE’s most prominent hospitality destinations in the making. Plus all of the reclamation works for the four-island cluster with a land area of 2.7 million square metres.
But that’s it — the master-developer has no intention to build even a single residential community, hotel or resort destination that it can call its own. “That’s just not what we do — we are a B2B developer, and that means selling plots for others to build on,” said Abdullah Al Abdouli, Managing Director of Al Marjan Island, which is also the name of the operating company.
“We have sold 70 per cent of the plots and on the other 30 we are in negotiations. That’s all we are interested in at the moment.
“If we took on the role of a developer, it would mean competing with all those investors/developers who bought in. Because being the master-developer, we will always have the advantage of benefiting from already having the land. It’s not an advantage we want.
“We will leave the part of the B2C to the developers who are having projects there.”
Not that Al Marjan Island has not done anything apart from selling plots. “We invested in the master plan, completed the whole of the infrastructure and leaving the vertical developments to the others,” said Al Abdouli. “We stick to the horizontal.”
In terms of the build out, 10 per cent of the construction is complete and another 30 per cent is now under construction. Al Marjan Island extends 4.5 kilometres out into the sea.
Ras Al Khaimah has in the last year seen a major pick up in develop-investor activity, especially in creating new hotel capacity. Tourist inflows have been strong and that is being used as the rationale for new investments.
The emirate’s other master-developer Rak Properties is adding to its portfolio of hospitality projects, including relaunching those which was put on hold during the 2009 crisis. The other freehold cluster, Al Hamra Village, too has built up a nice balance between its residential and hospitality mix.
As for Al Marjan Island, new investors come calling. FAM Holding became the latest to pick up a plot, a 126,000 square foot one, for a 548-room hotel. It is to open in 2021.
“Since 2014, hotels and homes have opened on Al Marjan — the tally now is 1,500 hotel keys and 2,000 residents,” said Al Abdouli. “We have the capability to build outside of the Island, but that’s not for now. The priority is to get the whole of the Island built up by 2025.”
