Emaar sets the scene for Rabats new waterfront Saphira development

Dubai based developer Emaar Properties has broken ground on the waterfront site of its Rabat development. The fourth of its luxury planned communities in Morocco, the $3.4 billion Saphira real estate project will offer high quality residential communities alongside a variety of hotel and leisure facilities. In joint venture with ONA group, Emaar is committed to providing the necessary infrastructure required to support a destination for world-class tourism, work and culture, single-handedly enhancing the appeal and reputation of Morocco’s capital city.

The ground breaking exercise marked the start of Emaar’s international expansion and a major 10 year investment vision to skyrocket Morocco’s tourism interest in a similar fashion to that of Dubai, creating golf, ski, spa and Riviera-style communities in key locations from the Atlas Mountains to the Atlantic coast.

Saphira will cover 11 km of picturesque Atlantic coastline, the Corniche of Rabat is located on western side of the city. Comprising 9 distinctive districts, major structures will include a marina district offering waterfront living, convention centre with resort hotel, arts district with opera house, concert hall and mixed-use business and retail space.

The residential zones of Grand Littoral,  Beaux Rivages, Nouvelle Vague and  Trois Rives will offer a variety of aspects from the beachfront Medina Maris district to the peace of lakefront living. Family-friendly neighbourhoods incorporate parkland whilst the apartment complexes boast a plethora of onsite activities.

At the developments core will be the pedestrianised Le Grand Souk, a road and electric tram system will ease traffic flow while cycle paths and green spaces integrate seamlessly connecting new with old. The entire community will benefit from medical, educational, sporting amenities together with local services, whilst leisure outlets incorporate shopping malls, health spas and country clubs.

This is no mean feat, construction on phase one of the Saphira project is expected to take 10 years, with the first residential owners and retail tenants taking occupancy in two years. Emaar’s winning formula of themed mixed-use communities is a big attraction for the Moroccan government who hope that in translating this concept to Morocco, Emaar is laying the framework for self-contained, amenities-rich neighbourhoods which will hopefully generate the same success attracting the lifestyle-conscious home buyer as proven with Dubai.

Separate reviews of Emaar’s further four projects continue tomorrow