Local developer International Capital Trading (ICT) is in talks with the Abu Dhabi government and the emirate’s Urban Planning Council (UPC) on how to proceed with its 60-square-kilometre Ghantoot Green City project in Abu Dhabi.

“We are negotiating with the government and UPC at the moment,” says a source close to the project. “The talks are about how to proceed with the project and the phasing.”

The project was formerly launched in 2008 and is one of the largest real-estate schemes planned for Abu Dhabi. “Nothing is on hold,” says the source. “We are still working on it. We just have to coordinate with the government.”

It was originally planned with 12 phases, the first covering 6.2 sq km. The total built-up area for phase one will be about 18.5 million square metres, and will include residential properties and hotels along the coast.

Later phases included a commercial centre, hotels, office blocks, residential developments, warehousing and light industrial areas (MEED 11:4:08).

It will be built in the Ghantoot area on the Gulf coast, close to the border with Dubai.

ICT is also planning a number of other major real-estate schemes. On Abu Dhabi Island, it is preparing designs for its Al-Manhal development. It will be built around the Al-Manhal palace, which will be restored, and will include a mosque, public plaza, together with residential, hotel, and commercial buildings. US-based Arquitectonica is the design consultant for the scheme.

At Al-Raha Beach, it is tendering infrastructure construction tenders for its Luluat al-Raha development. The reclamation work for the island that is part of Aldar’s Raha Beach development is complete.

ICT will build the first-phase villas on the development, and will build selected tower blocks. It will rely on third-party investors to develop the buildings that make up the rest of the masterplan.

Once complete, ICT expects Luluat al-Raha to be home to 6,000 inhabitants, with a daytime population of up to 13,000, including visitors to the island.