Mubadala in Sowwah deal with Taiwan firm

Mubadala Development Company (MDC) said on Thursday it had signed an agreement with a Taiwanese firm to develop four land plots on Sowwah Island just off the western coast of the capital.

Mubadala Real Estate and Hospitality (MREH), a business unit of the Abu Dhabi government-controlled MDC, inked the deal with the real estate development and construction company, the Farglory Group (Farglory), to develop the plots totalling around 17,000 square meters.

“The agreement represents the first foreign investment in Sowwah Island, which will become a vibrant, mixed-use Central Business District (CBD) and home to 30,000 residents,” MDC said in a statement.

The agreement is the first investment by Farglory in the Middle East and follows purchases of commercial plots in 2009 by two prestigious UAE banking institutions, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Al Hilal Bank.

Farglory’s four adjacent plots will be developed in phases and when complete will provide approximately 153,000 square meters of gross floor area of residential, commercial and mixed use towers with retail services all connected by climate controlled pedestrian passageways.

The first of these plots is to be developed as a luxury waterfront residential building, expected to be completed in 2014.

The plots occupy a prime location along the eastern waterfront within the first phase of Sowwah Island’s development, which includes the Island’s key infrastructure, road network, several bridges and the flagship commercial development, Sowwah Square, home to the new headquarters of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the statement said.

Also included in this phase are the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, luxury hotels the Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi at Sowwah Island, and Rosewood Abu Dhabi.  This first phase of the Island is at an advanced stage of development with the commercial towers and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange scheduled to be open and operational by mid 2011.

“Farglory is an internationally-renowned development and investment company and we are delighted to have them as a key partner in the development of Sowwah Island,” said Peter Wilding, Executive Director of MREH.

“Their development of the first residential and mixed use towers on Sowwah Island is a significant milestone in the evolution of Abu Dhabi’s strategic Central Business District.  Sowwah Island is a key destination for international real estate investors and developers who share a long term vision and commitment to this development and to Abu Dhabi.”

Farglory Group chairman Teng-Hsiung Chao said, “Abu Dhabi in the Middle East is the top priority market in Farglory’s globalization plan. Farglory will bring the world’s best construction design teams together for the Sowwah Island Development Project. This construction project will not only enhance Farglory’s international competitiveness but will also make Taiwan’s construction development business known to the world. The Sowwah Island Development Project is just a beginning of Farglory’s cooperation with Mubadala Development Company. Both sides will establish an even closer partnership.”

Established in 1969, Farglory is an international land development and construction company that operates in Taiwan, China, the United States, and France.  One of the largest companies in Taiwan, Farglory has more than NTD  400 billion in total assets.

MREH is responsible for the development of the 114-hectare island, which is strategically located at the junction of Reem Island, Mina Zayed, and the existing downtown area of Abu Dhabi Island. Sowwah Island will be a vibrant district, modelled on the world’s leading mixed-use CBDs.

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