Arada and Syrian Sovereign Fund Form $7 Billion JV to Develop Mixed-Use Megaproject in New Damascus
DAMASCUS, Sept. 1, 2026 — Arada has entered the Syrian Arab Republic through a joint venture with the state-owned Syrian Sovereign Fund, the companies announced Monday, with plans to develop a $7 billion mixed-use megaproject on a four-million-square-meter site west of Damascus known as New Damascus.
The agreement was signed at the Syrian Sovereign Fund's headquarters in Damascus by Arada Group CEO Ahmed Alkhoshaibi and Mohammed Al Khayyat, Board Member and Chief Executive Officer of the Real Estate Development Sector at the Syrian Sovereign Fund. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa also received Ahmed Alkhoshaibi at the People's Palace.
The deal positions Arada as one of the first UAE-based developers to expand into Syria and brings the company's total project pipeline to $42 billion across four markets: the UAE, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Syria.
Project Scope and Location
The New Damascus development will be situated on a plateau near the Mezzeh district, approximately 10 minutes from Damascus city center and 25 minutes from Damascus International Airport. The site encompasses four million square meters, with a gross development value (GDV) of $7 billion, or approximately AED 25.7 billion.
The program includes 11,000 homes — comprising residential apartments, villas, townhouses, and branded residences — along with 500 hotel rooms, 1,000 serviced apartments, education facilities for 5,000 students, a 300-bed hospital, office space, retail, commercial space, government service buildings, and a dedicated public park of 700,000 square meters. The park alone represents roughly 17 percent of the total site area.
Arada described the development model as drawing on its Aljada and Masaar integrated community projects in the UAE, both of which follow a master-planned, mixed-use format. Syrian officials have framed the New Damascus concept around the "15-minute city" planning principle, in which residents can access daily services, healthcare, and recreation within a short distance of their homes.
The four-million-square-meter Arada JV site sits within a broader New Damascus corridor planned along both sides of the Damascus–Beirut road, stretching from the Mezzeh highway to Saboura. That wider corridor spans 33 million square meters and is estimated to require between $40 billion and $50 billion in total investment, including $7.6 billion for infrastructure alone, making the Arada project a first phase within a larger sovereign-led urban expansion plan.
JV Structure and Sovereign Partnership
Arada and the Syrian Sovereign Fund will act as co-partners on the project, with the master plan to be developed in close coordination with Syrian government authorities and aligned with the country's national reconstruction priorities. The fund's real estate development sector, led by Mohammed Al Khayyat, serves as the Syrian counterparty, while Arada's signatory is Group CEO Ahmed Alkhoshaibi. Fund chair Mazen Al-Salhani was present at the signing ceremony.
The Syrian Sovereign Fund has indicated that the project carries a parallel humanitarian objective: building sustainable communities for camp residents and owners of homes destroyed during the conflict, aligning the development with Syria's postwar rehousing agenda.
Both entities said they are currently working together to identify additional sites for development across Syria.
Executive Commentary
HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal, Executive Vice Chairman of Arada, said: "Syria is at a pivotal moment in its history, and the scale of the opportunity to rebuild and invest in its future is significant. Arada has spent nearly a decade delivering high-quality communities at scale, across multiple markets and in complex environments. Working with the Syrian Sovereign Fund, our organisation is uniquely well-placed to bring that experience to bear here, creating jobs, developing local skills, supporting Syrian businesses and contributing to the local economy. Arada's success has been shaped by our willingness to make long term investments where others might hesitate with partners who share our vision to create genuine communities."
Mohammed Al Khayyat said: "Syria welcomes businesses and companies from around the world, and this strategic partnership with Arada is a powerful demonstration of what that means in practice. The Syrian Sovereign Fund's mandate is to attract world-class investment that creates lasting value for the Syrian people, and we believe that this project represents exactly that. We're grateful to Arada for their partnership and we look forward to working together to deliver projects that reflect the ambition and resilience of the Syrian people."
Arada's Expanding Global Footprint
The Syria entry is the latest move in Arada's international expansion. The company now carries a portfolio of more than 66,000 homes across the UAE, the United Kingdom, Australia, and — with this announcement — Syria. Its total project pipeline stands at $42 billion.
The New Damascus project's implied GDV works out to approximately $1,750 per square meter across the full site, and roughly $636,000 per residential unit when measured against the 11,000-home component alone — figures that reflect the breadth of the mixed-use program rather than residential pricing alone.
The deal represents one of the most significant foreign real estate commitments in Syria since the country began its current phase of national reconstruction and development, according to Arada's announcement.
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