Sharjah Oasis Real Estate Development, a major player in the emirate, unveiled its Dh20-billion ($5.4 billion) Sharjah Waterfront City project at the Cityscape Global expo in Dubai, UAE.

The project will have 200 residential and commercial towers, 95 apartment buildings, a hotel and a hotel apartment tower, reported Khaleej Times.

The first phase of the construction is set to begin at the end of this year, it stated.

Additionally, it will also have up to 1,500 waterfront villas and offer 100 freehold residential units that would be available to non-Arab nationals, said the report, citing top executives.

The project will be developed in phases, with the first phase slated to be ready by third quarter of 2018 and the second phase by the fourth quarter of 2016, stated Hayssam El Masri, the president of Sharjah Oasis Real Estate.

In line with the emirate’s plan to attract 10 million visitors by 2021, the Sharjah Waterfront City will help fuel the demand for residential and commercial units as well as hotels, said Masri.

Spread across 36 km of coastline with a total area of 60 million sq ft and 10 islands, the Sharjah Waterfront City is a fully self-reliant, advanced residential, commercial, and tourism development project in the region.

The first two phases of the project would cost around Dh9.3 billion ($2.5 billion) each, he added.

The construction contract for the project is under the bidding process and will be awarded by December. The infrastructure contract has already been awarded, the report said.

The Sharjah Waterfront City will also include two 5-star hotels – Shaza of Kempinski and the Dusit, it added.