Dubai Hills Unveils $3B Master-Planned Project in MBR City

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

Emaar Properties and Dubai Holding have unveiled Dubai Hills, the first project in the Mohammed Bin Rashid City (MBR City), the largest joint venture in the region’s real estate sector recently announced by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

“As the first project in MBR City, which reflects the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed on the future growth of the Emirate, Dubai Hills will bring an unprecedented dimension to luxury living. The highest benchmarks in quality and design aesthetics that are envisaged for every aspect of MBR City will be highlighted at Dubai Hills, which will become a referral point in the region for superior residential lifestyle development. With demand for premium homes in the city increasing, led by Dubai’s status as the region’s business and lifestyle hub, Dubai Hills is set to be the first choice for the discerning property investors,” said Ahmad Al Matrooshi, managing director of Emaar Properties.

Located between Emirates Road and Al Khail Road, Dubai Hills will be a gated community that will offer ultra-luxury residences designed around a new 18-hole championship golf course. Each villa will be built on lots varying in size from 20,000 to 30,000 square feet. The residents will have access to all the lifestyle amenities within an integrated neighborhood.

MBR City, which according to the Daily Mail is estimated to cost around £1.7 billion ($2.74 billion), is set to feature four components. The first will focus on family tourism and will feature a park which will be 30 percent bigger than Hyde Park in London, capable of receiving 35 million visitors, and a family-oriented leisure and entertainment center which will become the largest in the Middle East, Africa Indian subcontinent and region. The center will be created in collaboration with Universal Studios and will include more than 100 hotel facilities. The second component will concentrate on retail and will include the largest shopping mall in the world which will be called “Mall of the World,” capable of receiving 80 million visitors a year, while the third will feature the largest area of art galleries in MENA. The fourth component calls for the development of a unique area which will offer an integrated environment for entrepreneurship and innovation in the region. The residential component of the development is set to adhere to the green building standards in terms of energy consumption, waste treatment and conservation of natural environment.

As the tourism sector in Dubai grows by 13 percent annually and the hotel revenue growth exceeds 22 percent, Dubai managed to achieve the highest hotel occupancy rate globally in 2011 with 82 percent.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said: “The current facilities available in Dubai need to be scaled up in line with the future ambitions for the city. Therefore we have to start work immediately on the third phase of development that is aligned to our Vision till 2030 and boost the UAE economy to enable it to enter a new era in which it will become the capital of entrepreneurship, arts, culture, and family tourism for over 2 billion people.”