This commitment was expressed in a memorandum of cooperation signed by Rīga City Council Chairman Vilnis Ķirsis (New Unity) and United Arab Emirates businessman, head of real estate developer company “Eagle Hills” Mohamed Ali Alabbar on Wednesday, January 10.
“Eagle Hills” is an Abu Dhabi-based private real estate investment and development company focused on developing new city centers in fast-growing international markets. The company is currently developing projects in the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Ethiopia, Serbia, Albania and Croatia.
The Riga sustainable planning strategy identifies the Andrejsala neighborhood as a development area of strategic importance, the unique location and value of which is also appreciated by the United Arab Emirates investor, recognizing it as one of the most prospective opportunities for urban development in northern Europe. The Andrejsala neighborhood is where the Rīga Free Port is located.
Rīga Municipality will work with the investor on the city's priorities such as mobility and transport solutions, public accessibility of public outdoor space and the Daugava embankment, expansion of the housing stock, and business development, as well as promoting Rīga as a destination and suitable place for foreign entrepreneurs, developers and tourists.
The United Arab Emirates businessman plans to develop an area of around 57 hectares as a multifunctional environment, by expanding the residential fund with more than 6,500 apartments, building a new passenger terminal of the Rīga Free Port, improving the public outdoor space and rebuilding the Daugava embankment as a promenade accessible to residents.
The planned projects are expected to be implemented within the next 10-15 years, with more than EUR 3 billion invested in the development of the Andrejsala neighborhood area. Projects are planned to be carried out in several rounds and work on the first has already started.
