Saraya Island, Ras Al Khaimah

Saraya Islands

Saraya Islands (rather than Saraya Island) is a 1.2 million sq m project (the size of Mall of Arabia or the Dubai Mall) to be developed on 4 natural islands in the Arabian Gulf near Ras Al Khaimah (they said 1 island on their website but now it's up to 4), and a 16 hectare area on mainland RAK. Islands are called Al-Boum, Al-Marsa, Al-Sahab, and Al-Wahat. There will be 4,000 apartments and villas and 35,000 sq m of retail space.

Total cost was estimated at AED 5.14 billion (US$1.4 bn), but was up to AED 7.34 bn (US$2 bn) by Jan 2008. The project will be themed after the seafaring nature of Ras Al Khaimah. Aside from fishing boats then, the development will include

• Six 5-star themed hotels and spa resort with a total of over 1500 rooms.
• Waterfront or water view apartments, townhouses, bungalows and villas, some with private piers for the owners' fishing boat
• Marina
• Beaches - 6 km worth
• Shopping facilities and restaurants
• Water park, sports center, sailing boats, cultural center
• Planetarium (which may have become an amphitheatre on more recent plans)
• Sailing, fishing, other sports activities
• Navigation training institute
• Bicycle and pedestrian paths
• Bird sanctuary
• Ibn Majid Center - named after Ahmad Ibn Majid (or Ahmed Bin Majid) who was a sailor, navigator and poet from Julphar in Ras Al Khaimah, and lived in the 15th century.

Which sort of seems a lot to pack into the area they've suggested as the total size. The residential complex and marina are scheduled for completion by 2010, and the rest by about 2015. As with most developments in the UAE, allow an extra year on top of whatever the developer says, and 2 years if they have no track record.

Saraya Islands are being developed by Saraya Holdings along with help from Jordan's Arab Bank, and the Investment and Development Office of Ras Al Khaimah. General Manager of Saraya Islands development is Mr Mahdhar Al Tamimi.

Contact details: Saraya Islands, PO Box 12222, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. Tel +971-7-2277888, fax +971-7-2277887, email info@sarayaislands.com.

Saraya Island Hotel Developments

• Banyan Tree resort, will follow their 'Villas in the Sky' concept, and include a Banyan Tree Spa, and Banyan Tree Gallery. Completion scheduled for late 2011. From press release 12 Jan 2008.
• Taj Exotica Resorts and Spa will manage a hotel resort in the Saraya Islands complex, to be completed by 2011. Will have 180 rooms. Hotel to be managed by Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), part of the Tata Group. Room rates expected to start from AED 734 (US$200). From press release 12 Jan 2008.

Saraya Village

Saraya Village is the mainland part of the development, with shopping in themed souqs, and several apartment buildings with beach access. Saraya Village is also called 'The Gateway', and will connect to the island network via 'The Boulevard' - a large driveway with trees and flags.

Al Boum Island (not Al Boom Island)

• 327,000 square meters family resort with educational programs to keep the kids out of your hair
• sports activities include swimming, sailing, diving, fishing
• Saraya Sailing Center
• water park and sports center
• 2 themed waterfront hotels
• Maldives-style bungalows with a view of the mangrove swamp, er sorry, lagoon
• rental villas (serviced or not) with swimming pools and direct beach access

Al Marsa Island

• 2.5 km long, lagoon separates Al Marsa from Ras Al Khaimah mainland. The mainland village will have about 700 residential units.
• Al Marsa island is about 415,000 square meters with a central marina containing 300 residential units
• 5-star hotel
• restaurants, coffee shops, beach, swimming pool
• serviced apartments and condominiums
• Marina & Boulevard properties on sale from October 2007

Al Sahab Island

• A more secluded, and smaller island, with a posh spa-hotel including pleasant pools, cabanas, water features, and lots of pebbles to put on your back.

Al Wahat Island

• An exclusive gated residential community, with waterfront villas between the sea and the lagoon.
• Villa sizes are small, medium, large, or presidential.
• Accessories will include a selection of terraces, beach access, mountain views, swimming pools, private yacht berth.
• Community club on the beach with swimming pools, tennis and basketball courts, children’s playgrounds.

Saraya Holdings

Saraya Holdings is a Jordan based company (established April 2005) with the not quite so lofty ambition of making the region, rather than the world, their oyster. At least that's what the chairman, Sheikh Saad Rafic Hariri, said. Yes, he's the son of the late Lebanese prime minister - Rafik Hariri. Saraya Holdings is part of the Saraya Group, says their website, but we don't know if that's the same Saraya Group which produces vodka at the Saraya Distillery in India.

• Jordan contact tel +962-6-5505444, fax +962-6-5561738, PO Box 815321, Amman 11180, Jordan. Email info@sarayaholdings.com.
• Dubai contact tel +971-4-360-4550, Office F-16, Block 2B, Knowledge Village, PO Box 504945, Dubai, UAE. Registered at the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC).

Saraya developments

• Saraya Aktau, Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan with Kazemir Aktau (a property developer) on 400,000 sq m, completion 2011
• Saraya Aqaba, Jordan - a $2 bn, $1 bn, or $600m (they can't make up their minds) residential, resort, entertainment, shopping development. Size 617,000 sq m - about the size of Mall of the Emirates. Completion expected 2009.
• Saraya Sochi, Black Sea (Sochi is 2014 Winter Olympics site) with Sistema-Hals JSC (a Russian developer) & Kamelia Investment Company. A beach and hotel resort.
• Saraya Dead Sea, Jordan - a golf course and hotel resort below sea level.
• Saraya Islands, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
• Saraya Bandar Jissah, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman - an eco-tourism resort (where staff put warm pebbles on your back)

Saraya subsidiaries

• Millennium Development International - management for development of the Saraya Aktau project
• Saraya Private Aviation - a private airline charter business, starting in June 2008, to provide transport between Saraya developments (we assume it's not related to the Saraya Aviation operating out of Delhi, India since 1992)
• Saraya Realty - Saraya's very own property dealer. It won't surprise you to learn they sell units in Saraya developments
• Saraya MENA Fund - a real estate investment fund, investing in, well wouldn't you know, Saraya developments.

This information last updated Saturday 23-Aug-2008

Related pages - Internal Links

• Dubai - FAQ home and index

• Saraya Islands - forum topic - ask questions, add comments, information
• Buying property in the UAE - general information
• Real estate agents in Dubai - some suggestions
• UAE visas - different types and how to get them
• Contact us if you ... Have seen an error? Can't find something? Have a suggestion?

Related websites - External Links (open in new window)

• brochure for Saraya Islands - 11 page PDF file
• www.sarayaislands.com - Saraya Islands website (www.sarayaisland.com is spam, www.sarayaislands.ae and www.sarayaisland.ae give DNS errors)
• www.sarayaholdings.com - website for Saraya Holdings (the developer of Saraya Islands)
• Contact us to add a link to your website

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