Aldar and Arada sign $4.1bn Abu Dhabi development agreement

Abu Dhabi developers Aldar and Arada have agreed to work together on projects at Seih Sdeirah and on Yas Island, in arrangements the two companies value at roughly $4.1 billion (AED 15 billion).

What the two agreements cover

The first is a masterplan joint venture between Aldar and Arada to build a large mixed-use community at Seih Sdeirah, on land extending to as much as 1.5 million square metres. Arada will take the lead on development and construction management, and the two firms will brand and market the community jointly.

The second covers Arada's purchase of three residential plots on Yas Island, two of which face a canal. Combined, the plots take in more than 27,500 sqm of land and carry gross floor area of almost 130,000 sqm. Arada said the sites give it room to build a premium residential community. The purchase is the company's first development in Abu Dhabi.

Leadership comments

Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, group chief executive of Arada, said the agreements open a working relationship he expects to run long and to produce results, and that he was looking forward to the projects the two companies will deliver together.

Talal Al Dhiyebi, chief executive of Aldar, said the Yas Island and Seih Sdeirah schemes give the pair a base to build from, and that he sees scope to widen the collaboration into other sectors and other parts of the UAE.

Both executives appear on a 2026 ranking of the region's most impactful real estate leaders, placing third and 37th respectively.

Broader expansion on both sides

The agreement comes as both developers keep adding to their pipelines and hunting for new investments in Abu Dhabi and across the Gulf.

• Aldar and Mubadala Investment Company bought Masdar City Square earlier this month for $250 million (AED 918 million), through the joint venture the two partners set up in 2024 to invest in assets inside Masdar City.
• Aldar inaugurated Marsa Al Saadiyat in July, describing it as the largest waterfront development completed in Abu Dhabi to date, with a value of $27.2 billion (AED 100 billion).
• Arada launched Arada Capital the same month, a fund management platform based in the Abu Dhabi Global Market that aims to draw investors into Gulf real estate and to reach $5 billion in assets under management within four years.

For Aldar, the tie-up adds another strand to a portfolio spanning master-planned communities, waterfront districts and joint ventures with state-backed investors. For Arada, it opens a market where the company has not built before, alongside a fund business it is still scaling.

The Yas Island plots will carry Arada's first Abu Dhabi development, while the Seih Sdeirah community, spread over up to 1.5 million sqm, will be delivered through the joint venture.