First freehold properties on 'The World' go up for sale

The mix of exquisite beach homes and spectacular Bay View and Sea View residences provide international investors with a first-mover advantage onto 'The World' project, being built offshore Dubai's Jumeirah coastline.

OQYANA is a project by The Investment Dar, a publicly-quoted company on the Kuwait Stock Exchange and EFAD Holding, a major stakeholder in The Investment Dar. OQYANA is the Australasia segment of 'The World' and was named after the Arabic for Oceanic. It is the world's first fully master-planned elite island retreat.

The release of homes on sale at Arabian Travel Market includes a limited number of Bay View Residences - the superlative apartments on OQYANA's North Victoria Island, Alice Island, the Gibson Islands and South Leopold Island. The apartments are low rise, spacious and contemporary and offer incredible views over waterways and a busy marina community.

Also on offer are a select few Sea View Residences - unique in that they are the only apartments in the world to offer double-views - of the ocean and OQYANA bay. The extremely spacious apartments are modern, striking and light-filled homes on North Leopold and Fraser Islands.

OQYANA, the first destination to be designed for 'The World', is a quantum leap in Dubai's freehold real estate offering with a unique concept and a commitment to service and finishing levels never before seen in the region.

Unique to OQYANA is the fact that it will be the Middle East's first car-free destination. Travelling around the destination will either be by inter-island ferries or via an extensive network of seamlessly, inter-linked walkways.

"OQYANA will truly be a sanctuary of supreme lifestyle - a tourism-getaway and second home destination," said Waleed Al-Humaidhi, Chairman, EFAD Holding. "It will be a walker's paradise with 17 kilometres of inter-linked walkways, a haven for beach lovers with some 5,300 metres of shore front and a boating hub with over 1,500 berths.

"And all this is within just four kilometres of Dubai's Jumeirah Beach coastline."

OQYANA is the closest of 'The World' destinations to the mainland and will have the best views of Dubai.

"The entire destination can be isolated as it has no extensive public water corridors running through it, providing the highest privacy levels for residents," added Al-Humaidhi.

In all, around 10,000 to 12,000 people are expected to take up residency on OQYANA when it is complete in 2012.

OQYANA will be linked to the mainland via a ferry service. The destination will also boast a substantial area of upscale retail and all the community facilities expected of a high-end, elitist project.

Better Homes LLC of Dubai, one of the UAE's leading real estate companies, is assisting the marketing of the OQYANA properties at Arabian Travel Market, which runs until May 6.