More than 25 percent of total foreign investment was made into Abu Dhabi’s real estate and infrastructure projects last year, according to data issued by the Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi (SCAD).
Nearly $6.54bn (AED24bn) was pumped into the real estate sector by foreign investors out of the total $25.86bn (AED95bn) received in foreign direct investment.
With the increase in investment, the contribution of the construction sector to the emirate’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 3.3 percent in 2016, while the real estate sector grew by 8.1 percent to cross $72.48 billion (AED266bn), one-quarter of the total value of non-oil sectors.
Construction activity rose over the past few years as the government and developers launched numerous infrastructure, housing and entertainment projects, with increase investment flowing into islands, especially Yas, Reem and Saadiyat.
Most of these islands have become attractive destinations for real estate investments of all kinds, whether housing, hotels or entertainment projects, SCAD said.
In the past few months, Abu Dhabi-based Miral unveiled plans to build a $3.27bn (AED12bn) master development on Yas Island while Aldar Properties announced an investment of $518m (AED1.9bn) into development of mid-market residential, hospitality and retail projects.
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