Sahara Centre to expand AED 5bn Sahara City Project

The Sahara Centre, a leading family shopping as well as entertainment destination in the UAE and one of Sharjah’s most prominent landmarks, has embarked on an expansion of its AED 5 billion Sahara City project – one of the largest real estate and commercial projects in Sharjah and Northern Emirates.

Once complete, the Dh5 billion Sahara City project, spread across One Million Square Feet (area) of land, will encompass a vast array of residential, commercial, retail and entertainment facilities.

As part of the expansion plans, the project will encompass a series of components including on the Eastern side two underground parking areas, three levels of retail and five levels of parking topped by four residential towers; a multi-storey underground and above-ground parking, luxury residential tower and a covered pedestrian bridge across Al Nahda Road on the Northern side; and two underground multi-storey parking, two floors of retail, four floors of parking and four towers (two residential, one office block and one serviced apartment) on the Western side.

Sahara Centre has signed a Dh600 million Ijara contract with a consortium of banks for financing the Eastern phase of the expansion project. The Ijara contract has been financed by Emirates Islamic Bank PJSC, Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC {Mandated Lead Arrangers}, Emirates Bank PJSC, HSBC Middle East Limited, Commercial Bank of Dubai PJSC {Lead Arrangers}, Sharjah Islamic Bank PJSC and Bank Muscat International BSC {Managers}.

Speaking of the expansion plans, Jean Pierre Nammour, Managing Director of Sahara Centre, said, “The launch of the Eastern expansion phase of Sahara City and the signing of the Ijara financing agreements are major milestones for Sahara. The project, part of our strategic growth plan, has been supported by some of the top banks in the UAE banking community and will provide us with the necessary capital resources to continue our expansion plans.”

The expansion phase, which will boost the gross leasable area by over 60%, is already under way and is expected to be complete in 2 years.

“The Sahara City project offers impressive blend of residential and commercial offerings with the best of retail and entertainment and we are confident that it will be the most sought-after retail and luxury destination in the region. The response of potential tenants and retailers has been overwhelming. Most of the locations in the expansion phase have been already let out with a sizeable wait-list on hand,” added Mr. Nammour.

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