MBR City: Dh21 billion iconic district unveiled

Meydan Group of Dubai and renowned India-based developer Sobha Group on Wednesday announced the creation of a joint venture to develop an iconic destination community with a market value of Dh21 billion upon completion.

The community — Mohammed Bin Rashid City — District One — comprising 1,500 villas, leisure and retail attraction points on a prime four million square metres of freehold land is located 60 seconds drive from Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower.

Meydan Sobha FZ LLC is an equally split joint venture, which includes the development of city parkland, waterways, woodlands and open spaces covering a spectacular 2.4 million square metres.

Located alongside Al Khail Road, adjacent to Meydan Racecourse and less than three kilometres from Dubai’s key financial, leisure and shopping districts, the community will be one of the world’s “lowest density” residential villa projects at the heart of a city.

On Tuesday, His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the website of the Mohammed Bin Rashid City project at Meydan Hotel in Nad Al Sheba. Shaikh Mohammed watched a presentation on the project before he unveiled the commemorative plate of the project.

Shaikh Mohammed expressed admiration at the project’s designs.

Meydan Chairman Saeed Al Tayer said MBRC — District One will be built in four overlapping three-year phases in seven years.

Addressing a Press conference, Al Tayer said the first phase construction of 375 villas would take three years and would feature a water lagoon, park and a show village that will serve as a prototype for the residential area.

About 65 per cent of the project’s land area will be made up of parks and waterways, he said.

“We consider this to be the most important launch announcement since the creation of Meydan back in 2007,” said Al Tayer.

He noted that the flagship development fits in perfect synergy with Meydan’s master plan to create an integrated cityscape of upscale residential communities with all the attraction points and standards of excellence associated with a Meydan development,” Al Tayer said.

“Our partner Sobha Group’s reputation for quality projects, delivered to exacting standards and on time, ideally fit the brief for this prominent freehold residential initiative within Mohammed Bin Rashid City,” said Al Tayer.

“The customer choice and exclusivity afforded by the Mohammed Bin Rashid City - District One community, complemented by its lavish communal green parkland and unrivalled proximity to Dubai’s most vital districts, make the joint venture between Meydan Group and Sobha Group a tremendously beneficial one for discerning homeowners,” he said.

PNC Menon, Chairman of Sobha Group, said each of the four phases would deliver 375 villas. “For more than three decades, Sobha Group has been developing and constructing lifestyle destinations and our partnership with Meydan enables us to deliver that expertise, choice and quality to an entirely new community,” said Menon.

“Together, Sobha and Meydan aim to develop Mohammed Bin Rashid City — District One, into one of the world’s prime residential locations, delivering a new, vibrant ‘green’ heart for this city,” said Menon.

Menon said attraction points feature a 350,000 square metres water park, the largest crystal lagoon body of water in the world with 7km of lagoons and man-made beaches, alongside retail zones, leisure and sports attractions. “This unique “green heart” for Dubai will be one of the lowest-density residential environments in any major international city,” he said.

Ajay Rajendran, Vice-Chairman of Sobha Group, said the project would be partly financed by the group’s resources. Prices of the villas will start from Dh9-10 million onwards.

Rajendran said work on the nine villas, which are part of the show village, had begun and would be completed by September.

The joint venture has already commenced construction of the sales centre for the new community, anchoring the show village that underscores the tremendous choice of homes on offer.

Three distinct villa identities — Traditional Arabic, Mediterranean and Contemporary — and at least 45 different floor plans ranging from four to eight bedrooms, set against a backdrop of fields, valleys and woodlands, provide a unique opportunity for home owners to be part of one of the region’s most bespoke and sought after freehold developments.

Meydan Sobha will also differentiate its new community through a 35-hectare network of crystal lagoons and water features, complementing its master plan of more than 65 per cent open and green space among its homes and amenities.

“This ratio makes it one of the lowest density developments in the world and a truly unique proposition on the Dubai property market,” said Rajendran.

issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com