UAE Corporates: Abu Dhabi’s Private Department Launches LNG Fund, Nakheel Award Covers 617 Homes
The Private Department of Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalid Al Nahyan, which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, has launched an LNG fund. It targets 1.2 billion dollars at its initial close. In Dubai, Nakheel has awarded a main construction contract worth more than 950 million dirhams for 617 homes at Bay Grove Residences on Dubai Islands. That award puts all 1,154 planned homes in the community under main construction contracts, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on 26 October.
A 1.2 Billion Dollar Target Under the MidOcean and EIG Agreement
The Private Department launched the fund with its affiliate KSH Investments, which will act as strategic consultant. Reem Partners Limited will manage it. The manager is incorporated in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and regulated by ADGM’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority. The fund is part of the strategic agreement with MidOcean Energy and EIG on capital formation, investment origination and future energy and infrastructure opportunities in the UAE and selected regional markets. Its launch is part of a plan by the Private Department and KSH to bring their investment vehicles to ADGM.
On 7 July the Private Department committed 1.13 billion dollars to MidOcean, the LNG company formed by EIG. MidOcean called it the Private Department’s entry into the global LNG sector. The same day, the Private Department and EIG formed a strategic partnership for the UAE and selected regional markets. On our reading, the agreement behind the fund is that July partnership. Its 1.2 billion dollar target is 6.2 percent larger than the July commitment, on our calculation. The launch came 111 days after the partnership was formed, on our count.
MidOcean closed its 2026 equity raise on 1 October with more than 4 billion dollars of closed and pending commitments over 12 months. Its original target was 2 billion dollars, so the raise came in at more than double the goal, on our calculation. The Private Department was among the new investors named, alongside Idemitsu Kosan, NYK Line, The Arab Energy Fund and Shizuoka Gas.
On our reading, the July commitment counts inside that raise. If so, it is less than 28.3 percent of the total, on our calculation. It is also more than twice the 500 million dollars Idemitsu Kosan committed in March, on our calculation. And it is 9.4 times the 120 million dollars The Arab Energy Fund put in during May, also on our calculation.
EIG managed 27.1 billion dollars of assets on 30 June 2026. That was up from 25.9 billion dollars on 31 March, a quarterly gain of 4.6 percent on our calculation.
Over its 44 years EIG has committed more than 55 billion dollars to energy. That money went to 429 projects or companies in 44 countries. The 7 July release put the tally at 426, three fewer, on our count. In LNG, MidOcean says EIG has committed, signed or raised an estimated 10.7 billion dollars over 24 years. That covers 20 projects or companies and 26 transactions. MidOcean has itself funded or committed an estimated 1.8 billion dollars of equity into LNG, per the company. Its LNG portfolio spans Canada, Australia, the US and Latin America.
The LNG fund, MidOcean and EIG
| Measure | Value | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Fund initial close target | $1.2bn | 26 Oct 2026 |
| Private Department commitment to MidOcean | $1.13bn | 7 Jul 2026 |
| MidOcean 2026 equity raise | Over $4bn | 1 Oct 2026 |
| MidOcean original raise target | $2bn | 1 Oct 2026 |
| EIG assets under management | $27.1bn | 30 Jun 2026 |
| EIG assets under management | $25.9bn | 31 Mar 2026 |
The fund target is from the 26 October announcement; the other figures are from the company releases of 7 July and 1 October 2026. Values in US dollars.
Nakheel Completes the Bay Grove Contract Set
Parkway International Contracting LLC will build Phases 2 and 4. The package covers 617 homes of one to four bedrooms in eight residential buildings, with basements, infrastructure, swimming pools, sports courts and fitness centres. Phase 2 has 360 homes in four buildings. Its main construction is expected to finish by late 2028. Phase 4 has 257 homes in four buildings and is due in the second quarter of 2029.
The first contract, worth more than 800 million dirhams, went to Metac General Contracting Co on 17 September. It covers 537 homes in seven buildings across Phases 1 and 3. Phase 1 has 296 homes in four buildings and Phase 3 has 241 homes in three, both due in late 2028. The two awards came 39 days apart, on our count, and together exceed 1.75 billion dirhams.
Bay Grove Residences was already sold out when that first contract was let. On our sum, 897 of its 1,154 homes, or 77.7 percent on our calculation, are expected to finish main construction by late 2028. The remaining 257 homes in Phase 4 follow in the second quarter of 2029.
Khalid Al Malik, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Holding Real Estate, of which Nakheel is a member, said the award sets “a clear construction pathway for a further 617 homes”.
Bay Grove Residences by phase
| Phase | Homes | Buildings |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 296 | 4 |
| Phase 2 | 360 | 4 |
| Phase 3 | 241 | 3 |
| Phase 4 | 257 | 4 |
| Total | 1,154 | 15 |
Phases 1 and 3 are contracted to Metac General Contracting Co and due in late 2028; Phases 2 and 4 to Parkway International Contracting LLC, due in late 2028 and the second quarter of 2029.
What the Contract Buys per Home
The new award works out at no less than 1.53 million dirhams a home, on our calculation. For the September award, the floor is 1.48 million dirhams a home, also on our calculation. Across both awards, each home carries at least 1.51 million dirhams, on our calculation.
The new contract covers 53.5 percent of the community’s homes, on our calculation. Its buildings average 77.1 homes each, on our calculation. The first package’s buildings average 76.7, also on our calculation.
Inside the new package, Phase 2 accounts for 58.3 percent of the homes and Phase 4 the other 41.7 percent, on our calculation. Phase 2 has the most homes per building in the community, at 90, on our calculation. Phase 4 has the fewest, at 64.3, also on our calculation.
Nakheel’s villa contracts run at a different scale. In April it awarded more than 3.5 billion dirhams for 544 villas on Palm Jebel Ali, at least 6.43 million dirhams a villa, on our calculation. In August 2025 it awarded 2.6 billion dirhams for Bay Villas, a 636 home community of villas and townhouses on Island B of Dubai Islands, or 4.09 million dirhams a home on our calculation.
Value per home in four Nakheel housing awards
| Award | Value | Homes | Per home, at least |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay Grove Phases 2, 4 (Oct 2026) | Over 950m | 617 | 1.53m |
| Bay Grove Phases 1, 3 (Sep 2026) | Over 800m | 537 | 1.48m |
| Palm Jebel Ali villas (Apr 2026) | Over 3.5bn | 544 | 6.43m |
| Bay Villas (Aug 2025) | 2.6bn | 636 | 4.09m |
Values in UAE dirhams as announced; “over” values are floors, and so are their per-home figures. The Bay Villas value is stated exactly, so its per-home figure is not a floor. Per-home values are our calculation on the values shown.
Dubai Islands Awards Since April
Nakheel has made three Dubai Islands construction awards with a stated value since April, on our count. They are the two Bay Grove contracts and a 527 million dirham contract for primary infrastructure and utilities on Island B, given to Al Nasr Contracting Company on 20 April. On our sum they come to more than 2.27 billion dirhams. Adding Palm Jebel Ali, Nakheel’s construction awards with a stated value since April total more than 5.77 billion dirhams, on our sum.
Nakheel is also reworking the shoreline. A marine works contract awarded on 8 October to Mar Marine & Building Contracting will add 320 metres of beach frontage near Bay Villas by the fourth quarter of 2027. On 5 October Nakheel unveiled Bay Estate, a gated community on Dubai Islands with an estimated 360 three and four bedroom homes, per Nakheel, plus beachfront and waterfront plots.
Dubai Islands lies off the coast of Deira and spans 18.6 square kilometres across five islands, WAM said.
Why it matters: For Dubai, the Parkway award puts every planned Bay Grove home under a main construction contract. It brings Nakheel’s Dubai Islands awards with a stated value since April to more than 2.27 billion dirhams, on our sum. For Abu Dhabi, the launch is part of the Private Department and KSH initiative to bring their investment vehicles to ADGM. The fund’s manager is regulated by ADGM’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority. The agreement behind the fund covers energy and infrastructure opportunities in the UAE and selected regional markets.
Outlook: The next markers are the fund’s initial close against its 1.2 billion dollar target and the Bay Grove completion dates: late 2028 for Phases 1, 2 and 3, and the second quarter of 2029 for Phase 4.
Sources: WAM, Nakheel, MidOcean Energy, The Edge.
