Sharjah announces waterfront development

Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) went on a promotional tour of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) last month to promote Sharjah as a leading family and cultural tourism destination.

The tour featured road shows in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, during which SCTDA showcased its latest tourism initiatives launched as part of the Sharjah Tourism Vision 2021, which aims to attract 10 million tourists by 2021. The delegation was supported by SCTDA and its partners, Sharjah Airport Travel Agency (SATA), Air Arabia and Grand Hotel Sharjah.

CIS FOCUS

The CIS is one of the most important source markets for the emirate’s tourism sector. According to SCTDA, hotels in the emirate recorded 94,824 guests from CIS nations during the first six months of this year, accounting for 10 per cent of total hotel guests in the emirate.

Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, director general of SCTDA, says, 'The roadshow offers an opportunity to meet the key players in the travel and tourism sector in the CIS markets and promote the events organised in Sharjah such as the Sharjah Water Festival and F1H2O Powerboat World Championship, Grand Prix pf Sharjah as well as Sharjah International Book Fair, and Sharjah Light Festival, among others.'

At Cityscape Global, held in Dubai early last month, Sharjah Waterfront City was introduced by Sharjah Oasis Real Estate Development. Hayssam El Masri, president of Sharjah Oasis Real Estate commented on the launch, 'We have launched Sharjah Waterfront City keeping in line with Sharjah’s development plans to attract 10 million visitors to its emirate by 2021. These robust plans will increase demand for residential and commercial units as well as hotels, especially in prime locations that offer all modern facilities. We can proudly say that Sharjah Waterfront City will be able to match the demands and provide the desired quality of living.'

The Crystal Lagoon water theme park, coming up in the $5.4-billion Sharjah Waterfront City, will have 40 rides, with one combining the action of a water ride with an interactivity of the video game, according to the designer of the theme park.

WATERFRONT HOTELS

Dusit – Sharjah Waterfront City and Shaza – Sharjah Waterfront City (a Kempinski affiliate) are the first two hotels to sign an agreement with Sharjah Waterfront City. The hotels are expected to start construction by the last quarter of 2016 and be open to public in 2019.

Dusit – Sharjah Waterfront City will be a 200-key, entry-level five-star hotel with a serviced residences component of another 200 keys, which would include facilities such as separate spas for males and females, a health and fitness centre, a pool, meeting facilities and business centre and lounge.

Shaza – Sharjah Waterfront City Hotel will be a five-star luxury hotel with 300 hotel keys and 350 serviced apartments. The hotel element of the property will include the Shaza Hammam & Spa facility, a fitness facility, food and beverage outlets, banqueting and conference facilities, the Shaza Kids’ Club, a library lounge and other recreational facilities, retail venues and parking space.

Sharjah Waterfront City, spread across 36km of coastline, with a total area of 60 million square feet, will be a residential, commercial and tourism development project.