Qatar Entertainment City (QEC) has signed an agreement with Kuwait-based United Real Estate Company (UREC) to develop the first of five districts in the $3 billion Abu Dhabi Investment House's (ADIH) project in Qatar.

The mega mixed-use development, also commercially known as Tarfeeh City, covers one million sq/m of land including 1km of prime Gulf beach-front, and is the anchor development for Lusail, the 35 sq/km northern expansion of Doha.

The deal between QEC and UREC will see the development of the southern section of city, known as South Shore. The site, which covers 75,500 sq/m, is valued at QR955 million.

'This agreement with United Real Estate Company will ensure that the homes and amenities within South Shore at QEC are developed to the very highest standards,' ADIH board member and managing director and Qatar Entertainment City chairman Rashad Janahi said.

'This commitment to quality is essential to our vision of creating a world-leading family entertainment destination, and accelerating Qatar's growth as a tourism and leisure destination.'

The South Shore district will feature a resort-style blend of villas, apartments and beach hotels set in a waterfront living environment surrounded by world- class retail, leisure and entertainment destinations.

'This deal marks the start of a very exciting phase for QEC as we begin the development of the first of our five distinct City districts,' Qatar Entertainment City general manager Yousef Ali Darwish said.

'South Shore is being created with a real focus on the family and community aspects of life, and will play an integral role in ensuring QEC provides the optimum mix of world-class entertainment, leisure, retail and residential amenities. We see a real and growing demand across the GCC for homes and holiday homes that balance quality and community with desirability,'

UREC vice chief executive officer Abdul Aziz Jassem Al Failakawi said.

'With the development of QEC's South Shore we will be crafting outstanding homes and communities that deliver the lifestyle benefits we know buyers across the region are hungry for.'-TradeArabia News Service