- Eagle Hills from Abu Dhabi signed a commercial agreement with the Maldives government for a $12 billion waterfront and marina development in Ras Malé.
- The project will include hotels, resorts, premium residences, a marina, retail, entertainment, wellness, education, and healthcare facilities.
- Tourism in the Maldives reached record highs in 2025, with 2.25 million visitors and $5.4 billion in tourism receipts, making the market attractive for large-scale investment.
- Eagle Hills already has major developments in Egypt, Ethiopia, and Morocco, strengthening its global presence, but the Maldives project is its largest to date.
The Maldives Waterfront and Marina project will be developed in the Ras Malé area and is planned as an integrated tourism, residential and commercial destination featuring hotels and resorts, premium and branded residences, a marina, retail, restaurants, entertainment, wellness, education and healthcare facilities.
The agreement sets out the principal commercial terms, with detailed terms still to be developed as the project progresses.
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Eagle Hills said the development is expected to reach about $12 billion in value across multiple phases.
The $12 billion Eagle Hills project comes as the Maldives’ tourism <a href="https://absafricatv.com/help-shape-the-future-of-europes-defence-industry/” title=”Help Shape the Future of Europe’s Defence Industry”>industry reaches record levels. The country welcomed 2.25 million tourists in 2025, up 9.8% from 2024 and 32% above its pre-pandemic 2019 level It was the country’s strongest year on record for tourist arrivals
Tourism receipts also rose 15.8% year-on-year to more than $5.4 billion highlighting the financial scale of the industry Eagle Hills is targeting with its new development
The deal adds another major tourism and property market to a developer that already has projects in Egypt, Ethiopia and Morocco.
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Eagle Hills Chairman, Mohamed Alabbar inks deal with H.E. Dr. Abdulla Muththalib, Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development, Maldives (Image: Gulf News)gulf news
In Egypt, Eagle Hills is developing Marassi Red Sea, a 2,426-acre coastal destination near Hurghada featuring residences and luxury hotels. In Ethiopia, its La Gare project in Addis Ababa combines residential, commercial, hospitality, retail and leisure facilities.
In Morocco, Eagle Hills’ portfolio includes Tanja Waterfront, a large residential and hospitality development in Tangier, as well as hospitality assets including St. Regis La Bahia Blanca and Fairmont La Marina Rabat.
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The company describes itself as an Abu Dhabi-based private real estate investment and development firm focused on large-scale mixed-use destinations in high-growth markets. Its current portfolio spans Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
The Maldives project, however, is considerably larger than many of Eagle Hills’ individual developments. The company said it will be built on reclaimed land, with no further dredging to be undertaken by Eagle Hills, while independent marine monitoring will accompany construction.
The Maldi programme in the country’s history, saying it is expected to bring billions of dollars of foreign investment into the economy without government borrowing
The development is also expected to diversify the Maldives’ tourism-dependent economy by combining hospitality with residential, commercial and other year-round economic activity.
