Abu Dhabi Launches the 100 Billion Dirham Marsa Al Saadiyat Waterfront Development on Saadiyat Island
Abu Dhabi has launched Marsa Al Saadiyat, a waterfront development with an investment value of 100 billion dirhams, about 27 billion dollars on our calculation at the currency’s peg, in one of the emirate’s largest real-estate and tourism projects to date. The launch was witnessed by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, and the project is being led by Aldar Properties as master developer, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office.
The development marks the final phase of the wider masterplan for Saadiyat Island, the cultural district that is already home to major museums and institutions. Spanning 6.4 million square metres along an eight-kilometre waterfront, Marsa Al Saadiyat is designed as a mixed-use community with capacity for more than 58,000 residents, blending housing, hospitality, retail, culture and public space in a single coastal district.
Its components underline the scale of the ambition. The project will include the largest marina in Abu Dhabi, with capacity for up to 350 berths, alongside 5.6 kilometres of beaches, about 140 kilometres of walking paths and a 46-kilometre cycling track, a promenade of about one kilometre lined with retail and dining, two luxury hotels, and Dar al Funoon, a performing-arts venue with capacity for more than 6,000 guests, as well as schools, healthcare and community facilities and an underground station on the Etihad Rail network. Sales of the first homes are due to begin in the second half of 2026, with site enabling and infrastructure work starting in the third quarter.
The launch fits Abu Dhabi’s strategy of using large, government-backed developments to expand its real-estate, tourism and cultural offering as part of economic diversification away from oil. Projects of this size are intended to draw residents, visitors and investment, and to support the construction, hospitality and services sectors that the emirate is building up alongside its energy base.
Why it matters: A 100 billion dirham development is a significant vote of confidence in Abu Dhabi’s property and tourism market and a substantial pipeline of work for contractors, suppliers and the wider services economy. For Gulf investors and developers, a project of this scale on Saadiyat Island reinforces the region’s push to turn real estate and tourism into durable pillars of non-oil growth, and adds to the competitive landscape of large master-planned communities across the Gulf.
Outlook: Attention will turn to the pace of sales from the second half of 2026 and to how quickly infrastructure and the first phases are delivered. The project’s absorption by buyers and investors will be a useful gauge of demand in Abu Dhabi’s premium real-estate market, and of the emirate’s ability to sustain large-scale development through the rest of the decade.
Sources: Abu Dhabi Media Office.
