By Joseph Varghese/Staff Reporter

With 2,400 apartments and villas, Al Wa’ab City will accommodate a total of 8,000 residents and serve a community of 50,000 as it will be developed into a central district, a top of official of the project has said.
The 1,300,000sqm mega project is expected to be completed by 2017.
Speaking to Gulf Times on the sidelines of the launch event of the first phase of the Nour Al Wa’ab villas, Bassim Halaby, chairman and CEO of Benchmark - the company responsible for executing construction of the project, said Al Wa’ab City is a mix of private and community life.
According to Halaby, Al Wa’ab City required revision with a master plan. “The master plan has been revised to include medical and  educational services, other amenities, entertainment avenues and a retail mall along with residential units. It will have all the facilities that are needed for a community and will serve the residents as well as the bordering community.”
Halaby said a world-class mall will be operational at Al Wa’ab City by the end of 2014 or early 2015. He explained, “We have been successful in attracting a leading regional operator to set up a mall in the City. The mall will be 120,000sqm in area with a world-class shopping experience and other facilities. We have also been able to attract major medical and educational facility operators to the City. The details will be announced soon.”
The official said the project will have 200,000sqm of open space. “This will facilitate a number of streets, gardens and walkways for the families and kids. The whole city will be a mix of private and community life with the best available services and luxury,” he added.
The official also said that phases one and two of Nour Al Wa’ab were already sold out. “A total of 30 villas have already been sold out. There are 92 villas of 850sqm in this segment. Phase one was sold out in 10 days and phase two was sold out in less than a month. We are marketing phases 3, 4 and  5. They will be delivered in February 2015,” he added.
The villas started with a price tag of QR8mn and at present they are priced at QR10mn.
He said another 181 villas of 500sqm each will be finished by next year. “They are divided into two groups. Some of them are for corporate leasing and others are for sale. They will start with a price tag of QR7mn,” he elaborated.
Halaby said the villas are only for nationals. “Many are investing for themselves or for their children. Many are moving to Al Wa’ab and buying villas in clusters. The added attractions are the quality of the products, as they are different from other commercial products, and the location, as they are in the heart of Doha,” he observed.
Conceived in 2005, construction of the project started in 2010. The first product of the project, the showrooms of Al Wa’ab, was delivered a couple of years ago. Halaby said they are fully leased with prime rates. He also claimed that the property is expected to register 5% annual appreciation during the construction period.