Sharjah's hospitality sector to receive a boost

A new freehold city is set to boost Sharjah's mixed-use offering, with phase one beginning next month and set to cost US $2.5 billion.

The new city will comprise 200 residential and commercial towers, 95 apartment buildings, hotels, service apartments, and at least 1,100 waterfront and park-side villas are due to be constructed during the project's first phase.

The Sharjah Waterfront City will span 36km of coastline, across a total area of 60 million sq ft, and will be home to 10 islands connected via natural canals. Sharjah Oasis Real Estate, the developer firm, declined to comment on the total cost of the entire project.

Construction of the first phase, which spreads across 3 million sq ft, will begin in the fourth quarter of 2015, and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2018.

A water theme park, shopping mall, entertainment centres, schools, mosques, and restaurants will also be built during phase one. "Our objective is to develop Sharjah Waterfront City as the epitome of privacy, luxury and status,"Hayssam El Masri, president of Sharjah Oasis Real Estate Development, local daily Khaleej Times reported.

Work on the reclamation of land, canals interconnecting ten islands, and piling has been completed. Drawings for the roads and utilities and full infrastructure design have also been completed, the report added.