Abu Dhabi's Aldar Properties said on Monday it will add new villas to its Yas Island development with a project valued at 6bn dirhams ($1.63bn), the builder's largest single project to date.
Yas Acres will consist of 1,315 villas of between two and six bedrooms, with the company saying residents will have access to a golf course and club house, parks, schools and a waterfront, according to a company statement.
The project will add to Aldar's Yas Island development, where the emirate's Formula 1 race track is built and which will house 15,000 residents when the Yas Acres project is completed.
Project completion is scheduled for end of 2019, Aldar's chairman Abubaker Seddiq al-Khoori told a subsequent news conference.
The announcement comes at a time when house prices in Abu Dhabi are struggling to maintain current levels after steep rises in 2013 and 2014. Industry consultants Asteco forecast a "noticeable slowdown" in 2016.
A separate report from consultants Cluttons on Monday said the higher end of the market was particularly stretched as housing allowances given by employers are cut and the number of high-paying jobs in the oil and gas sector is reduced.
A three-bedroom townhouse in Yas Acres will start at 2.9mn dirhams.
Aldar's chairman Khoori dismissed suggestions of a slowdown, saying the economy of Abu Dhabi is stable due to its diversification and reduced reliance on oil with latent demand for housing.
"As the main driver and developer in Abu Dhabi, we can say there's going to be steady growth in demand," he told a news conference, adding that the market is picking up following the slowdown after the 2008-09 crisis.
Funding for the Yas Acres project will be a combination of equity and debt, he said.
