Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House has appointed a main contractor for work on a residential scheme in Dubailand, Dubai.

Local contractor Dubai Civil Engineering has been appointed to carry out work on the project’s first phase, which comprises 22 villas and all associated infrastructure.

A source close to the project also revealed that contracts for the second and third phase of the project are currently being negotiated with GFH.

The $250m California Village project, which will be built in the Dubailand area, will be made up of approximately 234 villas and 260 apartment units. It is understood that the scheme will be developed on a 100,000 square metre plot of land.

The US’ Stantec is the project’s main consultant.

Also in Dubailand, local developer Dubai Properties Group (DPG) recently announced plans to build an 8.2 million square feet masterplanned residential community in the Dubailand area of the emirate, targeting the affordable housing segment of the market.

The Mediterranean architecture inspired development, called Serena, will be built in five phases. The first phase consists of clusters of four-to-six units and it is scheduled for completion by the fourth quarter of 2018. The clusters will contain two-to-three bedroom townhouses and three-bedroom semi-detached villas, the developer said in a statement.