Damac to build Dh150m golf course in $2.5b Akoya project

Damac Properties has announced plans to develop an 18-hole PGA Championship golf course worth Dh150 million in collaboration with Donald Trump at the heart of its $2.5 billion ‘Akoya by Damac’ master plan development, a senior company official told Gulf News.

Construction of the Trump International Golf Club will begin in June and negotiations to appoint a contractor are in the final stage, Ziad El Chaar, Managing Director of Damac, said in an interview. It is due for completion within 18 months.

Asked about the sources of funding for the project, he said: “We have been so far been relying on financing in two ways: Self-funding and financing from proceeds of off-plan property sales. Because there are other components here, like the golf course and spa, we may resort to some financing from leading banks.”

The golf club, a 7,205-yard par 71 course located ten minutes from Shaikh Zayed road, will be built the 28 million square foot ‘Akoya by Damac’ that was announced last week.

The club will be managed by the Trump Organization, which owns and manages 14 courses around the world with Dubai being its first golf club venture in Asia. It will include a 30,000 square foot club house, Trump Spa and wellness center.

Asked if Dubai has the capacity for yet another golf course, El Chaar said: “We hope to create an area which is the Beverley hills in Dubai. There is a continuous, increasing demand for golf in Dubai, it is in the top six for golf tourism globally. The whole market is growing,” El Chaar.

According to study by accounting firm KPMG released earlier this month, the UAE is in the top 10 most popular destinations for golf tourism worldwide.

The Club is the first phase of development in the Akoya by Damac project, the largest project by size and scale that Damac has ever launched. Besides the club, it will include mansions, villas, townhouses and luxurious apartment units, a spa, boutique hotels and international schools from kindergarten to secondary level.

The second phase of development in Akoya will be the residential units around the golf course.

In other projects, Damac will hand over 3,300 new units this year in Burj Khalifa area, Downtown Jebel Ali and Umm Suqqeim, El Chaar said.

Growth in the luxury market is sustainable, El Chaar said, noting that they sold 40 per cent of the Damac Towers by Paramount.