RAK Properties awards construction contract for Dh500m Marbella Villas project

Developer signs agreement with Al Ali Construction and Development

Christopher Whiteoak / The National
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RAK Properties, the Abu Dhabi-listed developer, awarded a contract to Al Ali Construction and Development to build its Dh500 million Marbella Villas project in Hayat Island, Ras Al Khaimah.

The contract covers infrastructure and landscape work on the project for 205 sea-view villas and townhouses, RAK Properties, the Ras Al Khaimah-based developer, said on Saturday.

"With Phase 1 already selling out quickly, demand remains strong for best-in-class waterfront homes such as Marbella Villas from both domestic and international buyers," said Samuel Dean Sidiqi, chief executive of RAK Properties.

RAK Properties is constructing the Mina Al Arab and Hayat islands, off the coast of Ras Al Khaimah, to create a cluster of beachfront mixed-use communities. The company reported a full-year net income of Dh150.5m in 2018 compared with Dh192m in the previous year. Its board decided not to distribute dividends for 2018.

The company unveiled the second phase of Marbella Villas, a residential scheme on the Dh3 billion Hayat Island development, during the Cityscape Global exhibition in Dubai last year.

It is also building two hotels – the Anantara and Intercontinental – and other housing schemes are at varying stages of construction, including Flamingo Villas, Gateway Residence, Bay Residences and Julphar Residences.

RAK Properties expects to tap the sukuk markets from this year and raise additional bank financing as it continues to deliver its 30 million-square-foot Mina Al Arab coastal project in Ras Al Khaimah, Mr Sidiqi told The National in October.

The emirate is  is experiencing a tourist boom thanks in part to its fast-growing reputation as an adventure sports hotspot.

Ras Al Khaimah is home to the Toroverde zipline, officially the longest in the world at 2.83km, which attracts sports and adventure tourists.