JORDAN: Marsa Zayed project initiated

Abu Dhabi Ports Group has partnered with MAG Group Holding to develop the first phase of Marsa Zayed, a beachfront resort and residential community on the Red Sea in Aqaba. A marina and yacht club form part of the plan.

Marsa Zayed is a transformational project to turn a 320-ha section of Red Sea beachfront into a tourism and business hub and a southern gateway to Jordan’s key attractions, the UNESCO World Heritage Site Petra and the Wadi Rum Protected Area.

Phase one will span 1.2km of Red Sea beachfront and include Zayed Riviera, which will house four residential towers, around 1,260 residential and 117 retail units, a hotel and hotel apartment with beach club, an Old Souq marketplace with 50 retail shops, the restored iconic Aqaba Minaret, the yacht club and marina, and a visitors’ centre.

At the project initiation ceremony in Aqaba, AD Ports and MAG Group Holding launched an international campaign to promote the first phase of Marsa Zayed, which the organisers expect will be one of the Middle East’s most popular tourist destinations.

Moafaq Ahmed Al Gaddah, chairman and founder of MAG Group Holding, said: “We are excited to be part of what I consider to be one of the most exciting real estate development projects in the Red Sea region, one that not only will transform the economic potential of Jordan’s maritime resources, but lead to a vibrant coastal ecosystem that stimulates economic growth across this part of the Middle East.”