Work is set to begin on Madinat Al Arab, a waterfront development at the heart of the Jebel Ali makeover.
Madinat Al Arab lies on Dubai's last natural beach front, on the border with Abu Dhabi.
The development will house one of the world's tallest buildings, the Al Burj. Dubai Waterfront, next to The Palm Jebel Ali, will be bigger than either Manhattan or Beirut.
The area is set to become new Dubai's heartland and central business district, next to the Jebel Ali Free Zone and the world's largest airport.
Madinat Al Arab will be divided into districts of 10- to 50-storey buildings for commercial and residential use.
Master developer Nakheel will this month hand over the first plots of land to Al Burj Real Estate.
Two years ago, when Al Burj was set up, it bought two-thirds of the plots available at a cost of Dh7 billion.
Infrastructure work by Nakheel will continue in parallel to construction by other developers.
Naushad Noor Ali Rashid, CEO of Al Burj Real Estate, said: “Our investments in Madinat Al Arab are in line with strong demand in the real estate sector, particularly for limited waterfront developments.
“The project has generated great interest from investors looking for attractive returns as it is competitively priced and is the last of its kind on the last stretch of natural beachfront property available in Dubai.''
Dr Mohammad Khalfan Bin Kharbash, UAE Minister of State for Finance and Industry, is chairman, board member and shareholder of Al Burj Real Estate.
The company made a net profit of Dh935 million in 2006.
