BILDCO and Wujod plan a 10 million sqm low-density sustainable city in Abu Dhabi
“BILDCO has announced a strategic partnership with Wujod Real Estate Development to develop an integrated sustainable city in Abu Dhabi.” — Zawya / TradeArabia, 21 May 2026
What the partnership covers
Abu Dhabi National Company for Building Materials (BILDCO) and Wujod Real Estate Development have signed up to deliver a low-density mixed-use city across roughly 10 million square metres — about 107 million square feet — in Abu Dhabi. Phase-one capital expenditure is being put at AED 2 billion, with the masterplan integrating residential estate living, wellness facilities, equestrian and golf infrastructure, productive landscapes and innovation hubs. Specific location and timeline have not been disclosed in this announcement, and that is the first thing to flag.
How big is 10 million square metres, in context
For scale, 10 million square metres is roughly 2.5 times the size of Saadiyat Island’s cultural district or about 60 per cent of the entire Yas Island land area. That is masterplan ambition on the order of a small city, not a community. At AED 2 billion for phase one, the project is implicitly signalling that this initial tranche is infrastructure and site enabling rather than vertical construction — the per-square-metre figure works out to AED 200, which is well below land-plus-build economics for any habitable real estate. The vertical investment numbers, when they come, will be materially higher.
The credibility gap and how to read it
Wujod Real Estate Development is a relatively new name in the Abu Dhabi development landscape compared to Aldar, Modon, IMKAN or Reportage. BILDCO is well-established but as a building-materials supplier, not as a master-developer. Big masterplan launches led by less-established developers, especially those without a track record of delivering a community at handover scale, deserve a longer evaluation period before any off-plan commitment. The historical baseline in the UAE is that masterplans announced at this scale and at this stage of detail typically take 18 to 36 months before the first phase of actual sellable units launches, and a meaningful share of them are revised or rescoped during that window.
What to watch over the next 12 months
The relevant milestones will be the site selection (which emirate sub-region), the regulatory approvals from the Abu Dhabi Department of Municipalities and Transport, the masterplan registration, and a delivery partner announcement — ideally one of Aldar Projects, Modon Properties or a comparable execution arm. Until those four data points land, this is a strategic intent announcement rather than a buyable proposition. Existing Abu Dhabi off-plan options at Yas Island, Al Reem, Saadiyat and the Aldar Al Ghadeer Gardens release are all proven, in-construction alternatives with established developers.
Why the announcement still matters
The wider takeaway is what this signals about Abu Dhabi’s supply pipeline. The capital is in the middle of the largest residential development cycle of its post-2008 history — 200 billion dirhams of projects underway, 40,000 homes scheduled for delivery by 2029 per the recent ADREC numbers, and now a new 107-million-square-foot masterplan on top. For buyers looking at a 2027 to 2029 handover, the supply outlook is significantly heavier than it was 12 months ago. That should figure into rental-yield modelling on any new Abu Dhabi off-plan purchase, particularly in the secondary villa-and-townhouse segments where BILDCO-Wujod is most likely to compete.
The takeaway
For now: track but do not transact. The masterplan ambition is real and the BILDCO supply-side participation is interesting, but there are no buyable units, no confirmed delivery partner and no disclosed timeline. Anyone with a 2027 handover horizon in Abu Dhabi already has clearer, lower-risk options on the table.
For a current Abu Dhabi off-plan comparison — Yas Island, Al Reem, Saadiyat and Aldar’s active releases — contact our team.