Some 4 billion Saudi riyals is set to be invested by Abu Dhabi Towers, a firm wholly-owned by Saudi capital, in the Reem Island real estate project in Abu Dhabi. The move will make the company one of the main investors of the $5.4bn Reem Island project.
Abu Dhabi Towers representatives revealed that funds for the project were raised from several private Saudi investors, according to Reuters. The company will use the funds to purchase 8.9 million sq ft (80 hectares) of the Reem Island project to construct five 40-to-68 storey towers with the capacity to house some 80,000 people.
Reem Island, scheduled to be completed in 2012, is one of several real estate projects earmarked for investment by Abu Dhabi.
Foreigners buying into the project will be able to hold property under 99-year leases.
Remarking on the lucrative investment potential of the emirate, Abu Dhabi Towers' Chairman Saeed Al Qahtani stated, "Rents are rising 20 percent per year, thanks to stability and growth in the city ... You can't get in Abu Dhabi a three-bedroom apartment, that is worth 20,000 riyals rent in Riyadh, for less than 130,000 riyals."
"Abu Dhabi was ranked ... as the one of the ten fastest growing cities in the world," Al Qahtani added.
