Gulf Construction Online - Abu Dhabi approves Al Reem Island masterplan

UAE Focus

Abu Dhabi approves Al Reem Island masterplan

01 July 2015

Abu Dhabi’s Urban Planning Council (UPC) has granted approval for the integrated concept masterplan of Al Reem Island, which outlines community facilities including schools, hospitals, mosques, parks and promenades.

Al Reem Island is an ambitious project being developed by three major players in the industry – Tamouh (which owns 57 per cent of the area), Aldar Properties (20 per cent) and Reem Developers (20 per cent). Bunya will be responsible for planning, executing and managing infrastructure and operations.

The integrated concept masterplan was submitted by Bunya in December last year after working closely with the UPC and Al Reem Island’s key developers over the past seven years to create a plan that incorporates the objectives of the developers and the requirements of the UPC.

Among the major facilities detailed in the masterplan are 11 new private schools accommodating a minimum of 22,000 students, six dedicated nursery/kindergarten centres, one university (Paris Sorbonne), three new private hospitals and a number of clinics, nine mosques, civil defence and police facilities, a major transit hub, and 500,000 sq m of parks and open space, including pedestrian promenades along much of the island’s coastline.

Al Reem Island will eventually be home to some 210,000 residents, up from the almost 20,000 that reside there now.

Announcing the approval, Falah Al Ahbabi, the UPC’s director general, said: “The masterplan forms an integral part of the UAE capital’s path toward sustainable urban growth in line with Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 and is a core component of Plan Capital 2030. The approval of the Al Reem Island plan is a tremendous achievement and a major milestone for the city.”

He said the integrated masterplan will help the UPC and other agencies better manage existing development on Al Reem Island and ensure that future development is of the highest quality and meets current regulations and standards.

It covers the total land area of Al Reem Island spread over 8.86 million sq m and involving a total gross floor area (GFA) of almost 20 million sq m. Of that, 1.442 million sq m GFA will be office space, while 873,576 sq m will be allocated to retail (which includes the upcoming Reem Mall), and up to 10,000 hotel and serviced apartment rooms will be available, along with schools, hospitals and other community facilities.

Mohamed Al Khadar, the executive director, urban development and Estidama sector, UPC, said: “We worked very closely with Bunya to get this over the line, and we’re very excited about what this means for the future of Abu Dhabi.

“Not only will the growth of Al Reem Island, one of the key areas of expansion for Abu Dhabi, be carefully managed, we are also ensuring that all future developments meet our Complete Sustainable Communities directives, to support the creation of more comfortable, liveable and sustainable communities on the island; this is central to our mandate.”