Over the next 15 years, it is planned to invest more than EUR 3 billion in the development of the Andrejsala neighbourhood area, Riga City Council reported on January 10.
This commitment was expressed in a memorandum of cooperation signed by Riga 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 centres 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 neighbourhood 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 neighbourhood is where the Riga Free Port is located.
Riga 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 Riga 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 Riga 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 developing the Andrejsala neighbourhood area. Projects will be carried out in several rounds, and work on the first has already started.
Source: Latvian Public Broadcasting
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