Company Overview
Eagle Hills is a private real estate investment and development company headquartered in Abu Dhabi. The company was founded with the explicit mandate to develop landmark real estate projects in growth markets outside the UAE, distinguishing it from the domestic-focused developers that dominate Abu Dhabi’s property sector. Eagle Hills operates across the Middle East, North Africa, Southeast Europe, and Central Asia, with a portfolio of large-scale mixed-use, hospitality, and residential developments in countries with emerging or reforming real estate markets.
Mohamed Alabbar Connection
Eagle Hills is closely associated with Mohamed Alabbar, the Emirati businessman best known as the founder and former chairman of Emaar Properties, the Dubai-based developer responsible for the Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall, and Downtown Dubai. Alabbar’s involvement with Eagle Hills brings a track record of delivering transformational real estate projects and an extensive network of international relationships that have facilitated the company’s entry into diverse markets.
Alabbar’s dual association with Emaar (focused on Dubai and select international markets) and Eagle Hills (focused on Abu Dhabi capital-backed international development) reflects the distinctive Abu Dhabi model of deploying sovereign-adjacent capital into real estate development across frontier and growth markets. The company benefits from Alabbar’s reputation for project delivery and his ability to engage with government stakeholders in target countries.
International Projects
Belgrade Waterfront, Serbia: Eagle Hills’ flagship international project is Belgrade Waterfront, a large-scale mixed-use development on the banks of the Sava River in the Serbian capital. The project includes residential towers, commercial office space, retail (the Galerija Belgrade shopping mall), hotels, and a waterfront promenade. Belgrade Waterfront has been developed in partnership with the Serbian government and has transformed a formerly industrial area into a modern urban district. The project has generated both investment returns and significant debate within Serbia regarding urban development priorities and the terms of the government partnership.
Rabat, Morocco: Eagle Hills has developed projects in Morocco, contributing to the country’s real estate modernisation. The Moroccan projects target the hospitality and residential segments, capitalising on Morocco’s tourism growth and urban expansion.
Muscat, Oman: In Oman, Eagle Hills has developed Madinat Al Irfan and other projects that contribute to Muscat’s urban expansion. The Omani projects align with Oman’s Vision 2040 diversification strategy and benefit from the country’s growing openness to foreign real estate investment.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Eagle Hills has pursued development opportunities in Ethiopia, targeting the country’s growing middle class and urban expansion. The Ethiopian market represents a higher-risk, higher-potential-return investment thesis consistent with Eagle Hills’ growth market focus.
Fujairah, UAE: Eagle Hills has also developed projects within the UAE, including the Fujairah Beach development, demonstrating that the company’s mandate extends to underserved markets within the federation, not only to international destinations.
Marassi Al Bahrain
Marassi Al Bahrain is Eagle Hills’ marquee development in the Kingdom of Bahrain, a waterfront mixed-use destination on reclaimed land adjacent to the Diyar Al Muharraq development. Marassi Al Bahrain encompasses luxury and mid-market residential apartments, branded residences (including The Address Residences), retail and dining facilities, a beach club, and hotel components.
The Bahrain project positions Eagle Hills within a market that offers lower entry costs than the UAE while benefiting from cross-border demand from Saudi Arabia. Marassi Al Bahrain’s waterfront lifestyle proposition targets Gulf nationals and expatriates seeking leisure-oriented residential and holiday properties. The project is significant for Bahrain’s real estate market, representing a scale of development more commonly associated with Abu Dhabi or Dubai developers.
Investment Model
Eagle Hills’ investment model is characterised by several distinctive features. The company deploys Abu Dhabi-sourced capital into real estate markets where local developers may lack the capital, expertise, or brand recognition to execute large-scale projects. Government partnerships are a common feature of Eagle Hills’ market entry strategy, with host governments providing land, regulatory support, or co-investment in exchange for the transformational impact of major real estate development.
The company’s projects typically combine residential sales (which provide upfront capital recovery), hospitality components (which generate recurring income), and retail and commercial elements (which support community viability and asset value). This mixed-use model diversifies revenue streams and creates self-sustaining communities rather than isolated residential or commercial developments.
Eagle Hills benefits from its association with the Abu Dhabi brand and the credibility of the Alabbar name, which facilitate government engagement and buyer confidence in markets where trust in developer delivery is a material concern. The company’s international portfolio also provides geographic diversification, reducing concentration risk relative to developers focused solely on the Gulf market.
Strategic Position
Eagle Hills represents Abu Dhabi’s reach into international real estate markets, extending the emirate’s investment footprint beyond its sovereign wealth funds and into direct development activity. For real estate investors and market analysts, the company illustrates a model of Gulf capital deployment that combines development expertise with sovereign-adjacent risk appetite, targeting returns in growth markets that established international developers may consider too early-stage or politically complex.