Dubai Sports City, the world’s first integrated purpose-built sports city, said construction on its new residential, commercial and sport facilities was progressing well.

With growth currently in full swing, Dubai Sports City expects to see a further 5,000 residents move in over the next 12 months, taking the population to 20,000. Once development is completed, the community will be home to 70,000 people, said a statement from the company.

The 50-million square feet community located on Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, has already seen huge projects completed such as Victory Heights, The Els Club, Canal Residence West, Canal Retail Promenade and Sports Village, which is constantly growing as more and more residents and visitors use the world-class facilities on offer, it added.

Revealing the full progress made since the project was launched in 2004, Khalid Al Zarooni, Dubai Sports City president said: "It is wonderful to see Dubai Sports City growing everyday. Our aim is to set up a community with an active lifestyle for residents and visitors."

"With what we already have in place and what is soon to be added, we are quickly becoming the ultimate home and destination," stated Al Zarooni.

On top of the huge effort to make Dubai Sports City a place where an active lifestyle is on residents’ doorsteps, 200,000 sq ft of retail space will soon be a part of the community, with shops opening up along the Canal and within the housing developments.

“We’re making great progress now,” said Vijay Sajjanhar, the chief financial officer of Dubai Sports City. “We have a great mix of residential, sporting facilities and F&B outlets which are proving big success stories,” he added.

As of June 2015, 15,000 residents already call Dubai Sports City home, with Victory Heights, a family-oriented villa complex surrounding The Els Club already well populated.

Many high-rise developments are also in use, with major apartment buildings now coming online in a steady stream and the Canal Residences taking shape.

In addition to existing schools such as the Brademton Prep Academy managed by Gems Education and Victory Heights Primary School servicing 2,000 students, extra education facilities will be built catering for 5,000 more students which will further enhance Dubai Sports City’s offerings as a home for families.

Sajjanhar said: "We are running a marathon, not a sprint. We already have so many facilities in place with more to come so it’s taking shape nicely. We must be the first development that built the facilities first."

"We now also have a fantastic community in place, and we are quickly delivering what is important to us all, enjoying the way of life that Dubai Sports City aims to provide," he added.-TradeArabia News Service