Abu Dhabi company Mubadala today launched Arzanah, described by the company’s chief operating officer as one of its most significant projects.

Being developed by Capitala, part of its joint venture with Singapore-based Capitaland, the 1.4 million square metre development will include mixed used properties, beaches and a canal.

Set in a non-investment zone, properties can only be bought by UAE nationals. Once developed, it will include 9,000 residential units.

Waleed Al Mokkarab Al Muhairi, COO of Mudadala, said: ‘Arzanah is an integrated residential development at the gateway to Abu Dhabi. [It] will feature high rise apartment towers and townhouses, communal gardens and trails for both walking and cycling.’

The first phase, the Heights apartments and 14 townhouses, are due to be launched in a few months time (towards the bottom left of the picture).

Capitala is one of several joint ventures set up by Mubadala. It owns 51% of the company. Development costs are expected to be north of $5bn.

The Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) in Abu Dhabi today released the first 250 villas in its Saadiyat Island project at Cityscape, with prices starting from Dhs6.5m for a three bedroom property.

The Saadiayat Beach properties overlook either the coast or the Gary Player golf course, and are due to be ready by late 2009 to early 2010. The company explained away the high starting prices as being down to the location of the villas.

Although ground work has started on the golf course, work on the villas is yet to get underway.

Once the $27bn development is completed in 2018, the 27 square kilometre natural island will be home to 150,000 people, as well as landmarks such as the Guggenheim Museum, the Louvre and the Sheikh Zayed National Museum.

The island is split into seven districts and linked to Abu Dhabi city via two 10-lane bridges. The company claims it will take five minutes to drive from the island to Abu Dhabi city and 15 minutes to the airport.