Sharjah is starting to take big strides towards its vision of elevating the lifestyle choices in the emirate. One of its most ambitious projects so far is Sharjah Waterfront City, which comprises eight man-made islands literally carved out of the desert. Sultan Al Shakrah, CEO of Sharjah Oasis Real Estate Company, the developer of the waterfront project, exclusively speaks to PW about Sharjah’s real estate industry and how the mega development stands out from the rest.
What is special about Sharjah Waterfront City?
Very few projects in the UAE or in the region can offer direct sea views, and also a huge marina, and this is what makes Sharjah Waterfront City so special. At Sharjah Oasis Real Estate Company, we are always interested in the right project for the right location.
The six-phase mega project is planned to be completed in eight to 10 years
The Sharjah real estate market is a very stable one, which has been developing over the last three decades, and the private sector has the support of the government of Sharjah.
Sharjah has earned a big name for its family-oriented lifestyle and tourism projects. From our side, promoting Sharjah is synonymous with promoting our project. As much as we are involved in this area, we have to give full support and cooperate with the government’s vision.
The main demand for Sharjah Waterfront City comes from Emirati and Saudi buyers and then from Indian, Pakistani and other parts of the Gulf in equal proportions.
When will the development be completed?
The completion of the whole project will take eight to 10 years in six phases, but will also depend on market conditions. The second phase of construction will begin by the end of the year. At Sharjah Oasis, our main consideration is that the full infrastructure must be completed in 2021. On our part we will take care of the full infrastructure and some areas of the project. We cannot implement such a project completely on our own. No developer can undertake the completion of a full city.
The urban and infrastructure design is 100 per cent complete. We are focused on the infrastructure, as without it there is no project.
We are the first developers who are investing directly from our pocket for the main infrastructure before we launched our sales, instead of waiting for the customers. This is unlike others who have come to sell, gather the money form customers before launching construction.
How do you deal with connectivity issues?
There is a great demand for people to live in Sharjah, which has creates traffic congestion at peak times. We are trying to solve this traffic issue for people who are going to live in Sharjah Waterfront City. The Marine Taxi project in cooperation with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority will link our marina to Dubai Marina in 25 minutes from where one can continue onwards to their destination using buses or by connecting to the Dubai Metro.
Sultan Al Shakrah
As part of the infrastructure upgrade in the UAE, there will be huge developments on Emirates Road. We are developing two bridges that will connect directly to those highways. In five minutes, you would be able to connect to Mohammad Bin Zayed Road and in eight minutes to Emirates Road.
There is a tram project that will be implemented at Sharjah Waterfront City. And if there is a federal rail network to Hamriya, as planned by the authorities, the tram can be connected to the rail system.
