Local developer Nshama has announced the first phase of its flagship Town Square project in Dubai.

The Zahra Townhouses will be the first community to be built as part of the 10 million-square-metre megaproject near the Al-Barsha area in Dubai.

The Zahra Townhouses will consist of three- and four-bedroom villas with prices starting from AED1m ($272,000).

The contract for construction work on the first phase is expected to be announced soon.

Town Square will feature 3,000 townhouses and 18,000 apartments as well as a central square, which will comprise retail, hospitality and commercial space. The developers have said it aims to have most of the project ready by 2020.

In September 2014, a joint venture of Nshama and The Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum Foundation was signed to develop the project, which is expected to be complete by 2025.

Dubai’s real estate market continues to face a period of “volatility before stabilisation in 2018”, states a mid-quarter research report published on 3 March by local real estate firm Phidar Advisory.