As Al-Mabaar becomes part of Eagle Hills the combined project portfolio of $20bn makes Eagle Hills one of the biggest developers in the world.

The global real estate market has been showing signs of improvement and UAE property developers are once again setting sights abroad with major projects planned across the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

The Belgrade Waterfront in Serbia and the Centenary City development in Nigeria are Eagle Hills’s flagship projects. Both developments, which were facilitated through high-level political relationships, amount to $9.4bn and will reignite Abu Dhabi’s real estate investments abroad.

Prior to the crash of 2008 UAE developers were keen on international projects and at the time many developments in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey were announced. While many of these projects were withdrawn due to economic instability, the Arab Uprisings of 2011 further slowed down the UAE’s real estate activity in the region.

Many developers are now restarting and planning real estate megaprojects abroad and, with the merging of Eagle Hills and Al-Mabaar, the Abu Dhabi firm is likely to become a big player.

Eagle Hills is not alone and other UAE firms such as Dubai developer Limitless and the Abu Dhabi-based Aldar Sorouh have also expanded their portfolios outside of Europe and the Middle East. In May this year, Limitless reaffirmed plans to develop its Halong Star project in Vietnam, while Aldaar also announced plans for a mixed-use real estate project in Kazakhstan.