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Emaar to exit JV structure for Damascus’ Eighth Gate project
Development is valued at around $500 million and spans commercial, retail, hospitality, and residential zones across 300,000 square metres in Yafour
- PUBLISHED: Mon 18 May 2026, 2:56 PM
Dubai-based Emaar Properties announced it will exit a joint venture agreement for the Eighth Gate mixed-use development in Damascus, Syria, citing increased confidence in the country. The property developer said it will be the sole operate in the Levantine country.
Founder of Emaar, Mohamed Alabbar, said that the exit was due to the confidence in Syria’s landscape. "Our decision to exit the JV structure of The Eighth Gate is a statement of our unwavering belief in Syria and its people,” he said. “Emaar was built on the conviction that great cities deserve great communities — and Damascus is one of the greatest cities in the world."
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The Eighth Gate is a landmark mixed-use development in Yafour, Damascus, and was conceived in 2005 as Syria’s first master-planned community. The development is valued at around $500 million and spans commercial, retail, hospitality, and residential zones across 300,000 square metres in Yafour, which is about a 22 km drive from the heart of Damascus.
“This transition reflects Emaar’s enduring confidence in Syria’s economic resurgence and the transformative potential of The Eighth Gate for the country’s-built environment. By moving unaided, (Emaar) will be able to ensure The Eighth Gate is delivered to the uncompromising standards that define Emaar developments worldwide,” Emaar said in a statement, adding that the project will take on the same operational rigour and design philosophy as Downtown Dubai, Dubai Hills Estate, and Emaar Beachfront.
The development was named in homage to the city’s ancient seven gates, built originally during the Roman Empire, and which protected it against earlier invasions.
The ‘Eighth Gate’, then, aspires to be a modern one which honours Syria’s rich heritage while opening the country to a new era of growth, commerce, and community.
Syria, which has been devastated by wars for more than a decade and suffered a brutal regime, has now been developing after its new leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, took over from Bashar al-Assad.
UAE-Syria growing ties
On Saturday, the UAE announced plans to restore a historic mosque in Damascus with the support from Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the wife of the late Sheikh Zayed. The Minister of State Noura Al Kaabi toured the premises of the 8th century-old Umayyad Mosque, in which she stated that the news comes amid the UAE’s “unwavering support for the Syrian people.”
Hind Aldah is a business reporter based in Sharjah. In her spare time, you will find her playing classical guitar, painting amateur oil paintings, or crocheting the same old scarf that leads nowhere.