Dubai: Dubai Investments is venturing into resort development with Danah Bay, a Dh1 billion mixed-use beachfront destination on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah. Spanning 90,000 square meters, the project will include townhouses, villas, waterfront apartments, a 300-key four-star resort and retail establishments.
“We are pan-UAE - we were present in all the emirates, except Ras Al Khaimah,” said Khalid Bin Kalban, Vice-Chairman and CEO, Dubai Investments. “There is a lot of demand for beach houses, which peaked during Covid period. So we started looking for locations reasonably priced, easy access to the beach and not very far from Dubai.
"Ras Al Khaimah offers tremendous potential for the residential, hospitality and tourism industry and after careful evaluation, we announced this integrated beach community project.”
Danah Bay will offer a variety of freehold residential options, and also includes a 40,000 square metre private beach with exclusive access for residents and hotel guests. “The project will capitalise on the lucrative opportunities of the emirate, creating a benchmark in mixed-use development and providing a long-term value to the economy,” said Bin Kalban.
Construction will commence by end 2022 and the first phase is scheduled to be completed by December 2024.
Financial arm
Last year, Dubai Investment launched its financial services arm - Al Mal Capital REIT - to invest in different funds like education, health and logistics. It is the first listed REIT on the Dubai Financial Market.
“They already have two schools and they are negotiating for a third,” said the chief. “And by next year we have requested the authority to increase the equity capital of the company, and once they do that, we will open REITs for all.”
“Exit is the magic word and we are awaiting the consultants’ results to make a decision,” said Bin Kalban.
The CEO also hinted that with every exit, Dubai Investment will pay interim dividends. “When we announced the interim dividend, they asked the management to come up with a strategy for dividend - either to give interim dividend or to fix the minimum dividend payable to the shareholders. I think this is a work-in-progress.”
Freehold projects
Bin Kalban said that the holding company has the land to develop projects, but is reading the mood of the market. “When we see demand, we will definitely launch. In Ras Al Khaimah we are having talks with the government to acquire some more lands to do something different than what we have done."
