Marsa Al Saadiyat Launch: Dates, How to Register and What Phase One Includes
Updated September 5, 2026 · 9 min read · Sources: Aldar launch release and H1 2026 results, Abu Dhabi Media Office (22 July 2026), Gulf Business, Zawya, MEP Middle East, ADREC register (trailing 12 months to August 2026), Aldar Saadiyat Lagoons and Grove launch records.
What has been announced, and what has not
The facts are short. On 22 July 2026 Aldar unveiled Marsa Al Saadiyat, a 6.4 million square metre waterfront district with a gross development value of AED 100 billion, at an event witnessed by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. It is the final phase of the Saadiyat Island masterplan. Aldar said that site enabling and infrastructure works begin in the third quarter of 2026 and that sales of the first homes begin in the second half of 2026. Its H1 2026 results repeated the point: launches commence in H2. That is where the confirmed timeline ends. Aldar has not published a launch day, a price list, a payment plan, unit sizes or floor plans, and its own project page still describes the district as coming soon. Anyone quoting a Marsa Al Saadiyat price per square foot in September 2026 is quoting a guess, and the guesses on the portals range widely enough to be useless. The honest position for a buyer is therefore not “wait for the price” but “be ready for the price”. The gap between a first release and its allocation on recent Aldar Saadiyat launches has been days, and a registered buyer with funds and paperwork in order sees the list before the market does. This guide sets out what is confirmed, how to register, what phase one is likely to contain and what to have in place.
The timeline as Aldar has stated it
Every date below comes from Aldar’s own release, the Abu Dhabi Media Office statement or Aldar’s half-year results. Where a line says not published, that is the answer, not an omission.
| Milestone | Status | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Masterplan announced | Done, 22 July 2026 | Aldar release, Abu Dhabi Media Office |
| Site enabling and infrastructure works | Scheduled for Q3 2026 | Aldar release, MEP Middle East, Zawya |
| First residential sales | H2 2026 | Aldar release, H1 2026 results |
| Exact launch date | Not published | Aldar project page still says coming soon |
| Price list and payment plan | Not published | Released to registered buyers at launch |
| Floor plans and unit mix of phase one | Not published | Product types described, phase composition not |
| Dar Al Funoon theatre district | 2030 | Aldar, DCT Abu Dhabi |
| Etihad Rail high-speed station | Around 2030 for the line | Etihad Rail, January 2025 announcement |
How to register interest
Aldar runs registration through its official Marsa Al Saadiyat project page, where an enquiry form takes your name, contact details and what you are looking for. Registering costs nothing and creates no obligation. What it does is put you on the list that receives the price list, the payment plan and the floor plans when Aldar releases them, ahead of the portals. Registering through this desk does the same thing with one addition. We register you with Aldar as our client, and on the day the list lands we send it with our read against the registered Saadiyat numbers alongside, so you can see in one page whether the launch price sits above or below what buyers are actually paying on the island. That read is the part a developer’s brochure will never include. Two practical points. Register the name that will sit on the sale and purchase agreement, because Aldar allocations are personal and switching the buyer after allocation is a headache. And register once, with one address. Multiple registrations through several brokers do not improve your position; they create duplicate records that Aldar has to resolve, usually against you.
What phase one is expected to include
Aldar has described the product mix for the district as a whole: private mansions, branded residences, luxury villas and waterfront apartments, including a hillside community of stand-alone villas, arranged around a 350-berth marina, 5.6 kilometres of beach and a one-kilometre promenade with two hotels and a yacht club. Its H1 results add a number that matters for phase sizing: of the AED 100 billion GDV, Aldar itself develops AED 60 billion, with the balance presumably taken by partners and third-party plots. What Aldar has not said is which of those product types opens the district. On its previous Saadiyat masterplans the pattern is informative without being binding. Saadiyat Lagoons launched in 2022 with villas in the first phase, from AED 6.1 million, and added the Al Sidr phase later. Saadiyat Grove opened with apartments in its first phase and layered branded and wellness residences on afterwards. Both began with the product closest to the district’s headline amenity. Read across, a marina district would open with the waterfront it is named for. That is inference, and we flag it as inference. The register-interest form asks what you are looking for, and it is worth answering precisely, because a developer sizing a first release reads those answers.
How an Aldar launch runs
Aldar sells its Saadiyat launches quickly. The Row Saadiyat, its recent Cultural District apartment release, shows 574 registered sales in the trailing 12 months on the ADREC register at a median of AED 5.5 million and AED 3,861 per square foot, which is the clearest evidence of how deep demand is for new Saadiyat stock at prices well above the island’s all-sales median. Our community page notes that recent Aldar Saadiyat allocations have taken days. The mechanics follow a familiar shape. Registered buyers receive the release information first, express interest in specific unit types, and are invited to select and book. Booking requires a deposit, the 2% ADREC registration fee, passport and Emirates ID or visa copies, and for a company buyer the trade licence and board resolution. Bookings in Abu Dhabi are registered in the interim register through ADREC, and the purchase is protected by the escrow rules under Law 2 of 2025, which route every instalment into a project-specific account released against verified construction milestones. The buyers who get the unit they want are the ones who decided their budget, their unit type and their funding before the list arrived, not after. A launch is not the place to start thinking.
What to have ready before the day
Funds for the booking deposit and the 2% ADREC fee, in the UAE, clearable the same day. Aldar’s recent Saadiyat plans have asked for 5% to 10% at booking, so on a hypothetical AED 5 million unit that is AED 250,000 to 500,000 plus AED 100,000 to ADREC. Marsa Al Saadiyat’s plan is not published and could differ. A mortgage pre-approval if you intend to finance. Since 4 September 2026 Abu Dhabi has a route for a bank to be registered on an off-plan unit once 50% of the price is paid, first used by Aldar and ADCB, and pre-approvals hold for 12 months and renew to handover. The Central Bank caps a loan on a property under construction at 50% of price, at most seven times annual income, and inside a 50% debt burden ratio tested two points above the offered rate. The off-plan mortgage checker on this site runs those three tests on your numbers. A view on the Golden Visa. A registered purchase of AED 2 million qualifies for the 10-year visa, but Abu Dhabi in practice counts money actually paid rather than contract value, so on a payment plan the visa follows your instalments, not your booking. And a price reference. The next section, and the Marsa Al Saadiyat prices guide on this site, put the island’s registered medians in one place so that the launch list can be read in seconds.
The price context you will need on the day
The ADREC register records 1,926 apartment sales on Al Saadiyat Island in the trailing 12 months to August 2026 at a median of AED 3.82 million and AED 3,386 per square foot, and 285 villa sales at a median of AED 9.25 million. By bedroom, the apartment medians are AED 1.11 million for a studio, AED 2.9 million for a one-bedroom, AED 5.59 million for a two-bedroom and AED 10.8 million for a three-bedroom. Knight Frank’s H1 2026 review puts Saadiyat at about AED 43,100 per square metre, up about 21% in the year to June 2026, the most expensive apartment market in the emirate. Those are the numbers to hold against Aldar’s list. A launch price per square foot at or below the island median for the same type is a district being priced to sell its first phase; one materially above it is a developer pricing the marina and the rail station in from day one. Either can be right, but you should know which you are being offered. The off-plan finder on this site tracks the launch and lists it alongside every other Abu Dhabi release the moment it is public.
Related questions
When does Marsa Al Saadiyat launch?
Aldar has said sales of the first homes begin in the second half of 2026, with site works from the third quarter. As of 5 September 2026 no exact launch date has been published and Aldar’s project page still says coming soon.
How do I register for Marsa Al Saadiyat?
Through the enquiry form on Aldar’s official Marsa Al Saadiyat page, or through this desk, which registers you with Aldar as our client and sends the price list with our read against registered Saadiyat prices. Registration is free and commits you to nothing.
What will phase one of Marsa Al Saadiyat include?
Aldar has described the district’s mix as waterfront apartments, villas, branded residences, private mansions and hillside villas, but has not said which types open the district. Its Saadiyat Lagoons and Saadiyat Grove launches each opened with the product closest to the headline amenity.
Are Marsa Al Saadiyat prices published?
No. Aldar names prices at launch and releases them to registered buyers first. For context, the ADREC register shows a Saadiyat apartment median of AED 3.82 million and AED 3,386 per square foot over the 12 months to August 2026.
What do I need to book at an Aldar launch?
Cleared funds for the booking deposit (5% to 10% on recent Aldar Saadiyat plans) and the 2% ADREC fee, passport and Emirates ID or visa copies, and a mortgage pre-approval if you intend to use the ADREC off-plan mortgage route once 50% is paid.
Can foreigners buy in Marsa Al Saadiyat?
Yes. Saadiyat is an Abu Dhabi investment zone where all nationalities can own freehold, with title registered at ADREC. A registered purchase of AED 2 million supports a Golden Visa application, though Abu Dhabi counts the amount actually paid.
