Latest luxury resort lined up for Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island

A 91,000 square-metre luxury tourism development will begin in the capital this year, the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) announced yesterday. 

The 366 room and luxury beach villa resort, scheduled to open on the Saadiyat Island Beach District in 2015. Picture courtesy of TDIC.
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ABU DHABI // A 91,000 square-metre luxury tourism development will begin in the capital this year, the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) announced.

The 366 room and luxury beach villa resort, scheduled to open on the Saadiyat Island Beach District in 2015, will be developed by the Bin Otaiba Investment Group.

Khalaf bin Ahmad Al Otaiba, Chairman of Bin Otaiba Investment Group which already has hotels such as the Hilton Sharjah and Millennium Hotel Abu Dhabi among its portfolio, said: "We are pleased to be investing on Saadiyat island as this is a promising destination... [which] will be positioned among TDIC's distinctive world-class cultural, leisure, hospitality and residential developments on Saadiyat."

The new development will follow strict compliance with TDIC's high standards of construction and design guidelines, to ensure the ecosystem remains intact. Particular attention is focused on TDIC's turtle conservation programme which respects the nesting and hatching seasons.

Ali Al Hammadi, Deputy Managing Director of TDIC, said: "We are pleased with the high level of interest we continuously receive from reputable global and regional investors keen on becoming part of Saadiyat and its emerging success story. The sale of this land plot to Bin Otaiba Investment Group reassures the leading position of Saadiyat as a strategic location for investment and an ideal residential and tourism destination. We are looking forward for the completion of this new luxury resort which will be a great addition to Abu Dhabi's hospitality sector."

The resort is one of a number of hotel and leisure developments which is emerging on the island, alongside the likes of Saadiyat Beach Golf Club and the Monte-Carlo Beach Club.

The Saadiyat Cultural District is set to become an internationally renowned arts hub featuring world-class museums designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects, which will open on the island starting with the Louvre Abu Dhabi in 2015, and followed by Zayed National Museum in 2016 and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi in 2017.

mswan@thenational.ae