The first project within Mohammad Bin Rashid City will be developed by a joint venture between Meydan Group and Sobha Group within seven years, developers said on Wednesday.
Named Mohammad Bin Rashid City-District One, its market value is expected to reach Dh21 billion, said Saeed Al Tayer, Meydan’s chairman and chief executive at a press conference.
Located along al Khail road next to the Meydan Racecourse, the project sprawls across four million square meters of freehold land. It will include 1,500 luxury villas, a 350,000 square meter water park, seven kilometers of lagoons and man-made beaches, retail zones and sports attractions.
Meydan Sobha, the 50-50 joint venture and contractor, will complete the project in four phases and broke ground on phase one last month, Al Tayer said.
The first phase will take three years for the construction of 375 villas, water lagoon, and a park, he said. A show village will be built by October to show potential investors the three villas styles of contemporary, Arabic and Mediterranean and will include a sales center.
Each villa could sell for Dh9 million and upwards, said P.N.C. Menon, Chairman of the Sobha Group.
Sales registration began Wednesday morning through a dedicated website and call center for the MBR City project, Al Tayer said.
The developers expect to sell the whole project within three to four years, Menon said.
Mohammad BinRashid City, a mega-project announced by the ruler of Dubai in November, includes the world biggest shopping malls, 100 hotels and a park larger than London’s Hyde Park.
Project finances
Asked how the JV will fund the project, Al Tayer told Gulf News that 40 to 50 per cent will be “self-funded” and the remainder from financial institutions and investors. “We have the funds to go through with phase one.”
The developers would not reveal the cost of the project. “It would be harmful to us,” Al Tayer said.
A number of mega-projects announced by other developers during the boom years were cancelled or stalled but Al Tayer assured: “We will deliver on it…the proof is in the building and delivery.”
Meydan Sobha will showcase the luxury villas during Cityscape Dubai next year.
Mohammad BinRashid City-District One is designed to attract tourists and increase the number of nights they stay in Dubai, Al Tayer said.
About 65 per cent of the development will comprise of open and green spaces with activities like cycling, horse-riding and other sports.
“This is a dream being created,” said Menon.
