www.agbi.com :Abu Dhabi’s largest developer, Aldar, and Dubai-based private real estate company Arada are partnering on multibillion-dollar projects in the UAE capital as property demand rises.

The companies will establish a joint venture to develop a large-scale mixed-use community at Seih Sdeirah, spanning 1.5 million square metres on the Abu Dhabi-Dubai border.

Arada will also buy three residential development plots on Yas Island for a premium residential community.

The projects are worth AED15 billion ($4 billion) combined, Aldar said in a statement.

The companies provided no further details.

The move follows foreign investment in Abu Dhabi real estate reaching nearly AED14 billion between January and June, up 309 percent year on year.

The number of foreign nationalities investing in the property market rose to 116, from 82 in the same period last year.

Aldar is increasingly partnering with other major UAE developers.

In February it teamed up with Dubai Holding, an investment conglomerate owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to expand their real estate joint venture and build 14,000 homes in Dubai.

Aldar, the state-backed developer, reported an 18 percent rise in first-half net profit. New-launch sales fell 43 percent as the company pulled back after the US-Iran conflict began.

Its shares on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange were trading 0.5 percent lower at AED8.16 on Wednesday and are down more than 6 percent so far this year.

Launched in the UAE in 2017, Arada was founded by Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, deputy ruler of the emirate of Sharjah, and Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal, a member of the Saudi royal family and CEO of KBW Ventures.