Aldar buys 2.3m sqm of land on Yas and Saadiyat: 3 000 homes worth AED 23bn

In early February 2026 Aldar, Abu Dhabi's largest developer, announced it had acquired more than 2.3 million square metres of land across Saadiyat Island, Yas Island and a site adjacent to Yas. The plan is roughly 3 000 homes with a combined gross development value of about AED 23bn, or $6.26bn.

What goes where

• Saadiyat — luxury residences, on an island with a museum district, beaches and a championship golf course and very little land left.
• Yas and the adjacent plot — large family master-planned communities: villas, townhouses and apartments under one plan.

Launches are due from 2026 onwards, phased to demand. No project names or prices were attached to the deal.

The arithmetic

AED 23bn over 3 000 homes is an average of about AED 7.7m a unit. The average hides the gap between a Saadiyat villa and a Yas apartment, but the level is clear: premium and upper-mid market, not affordable stock. Two implications. Most of the supply will be villas and large units, the segment Abu Dhabi is shortest of — ADREC data show resale prices up 20% for apartments and 12% for villas in the first half of 2026. And entry into the new phases is unlikely to undercut Aldar's current projects on the same islands.

Where it sits on the map

On Yas, Aldar is already building the last waterfront cluster, Yas Point (including The Canopies at Yas Point), while the island gains new anchors in the Disney park and Miral's AED 12bn programme — see Miral and Disneyland on Yas. On Saadiyat, the island's final phase, Marsa Al Saadiyat, was unveiled in 2026, and communities such as Saadiyat Lagoons are already selling.

For existing owners the news cuts both ways: more supply and more resale competition, but also the schools, retail and roads that make these islands worth living on. Land on Yas and Saadiyat is finite, and every large plot committed now is one less for later.

Preparing for the launches

Aldar launches tend to sell quickly, and day-one decisions are often made on partial information. Decide island, format and budget in advance, study the developer's live projects nearby, and buy only registered projects with an escrow account.

Current projects are on our Yas Island and Saadiyat pages — the right place to benchmark before the new phases arrive.