Capitala, the Abu Dhabi-based strategic real estate master planner and developer, said it has reached a construction milestone ahead of schedule with the first concrete pour at Rihan Heights within its Arzanah project.

The first concrete pour on site for Towers A, B & D in the first phase of Capitala's $6 illion flagship project Arzanah has been completed for the lift pits at Rihan Heights, with the concrete for the remaining lift pits being poured this week, said a company official.

Within Rihan Heights there are five towers with more than 850 apartments and 14 villas being built on the site’s perimeter.

Landscaped courtyards, secure parking, swimming pools and skygardens are all key features, with views from the apartments of the iconic Zayed Grand Mosque, the beachfront and city park.

Peter Wilding, deputy chief executive officer of Capitala said, "Over the past few months our in-house project team has worked closely with our consultants and contractors to ensure we are ahead of our schedule."

"We consciously took a decision to commence enabling and piling works for Rihan Heights even before the detailed design was fully completed which has given us the significant advantage of allowing us to commence main construction works early as represented by our first concrete pour."

“This is an important milestone for the Arzanah project. Rihan Heights, as the first phase of our masterplan, is setting the pace and we look forward to maintaining it over the next two years of construction,” he added.

Homes in Rihan Heights will be gradually handed over to their owners starting in the first quarter of 2011.

The 25-month construction contract worth Dh1.9 billion ($500 million) for the project has been clinched by a joint venture partnership between Sunway Construction, part of the Malaysia-based Sunway Group and Silver Coast Construction & Boring, a leading Abu Dhabi-based contractor.-TradeArabia News Service