Although Abu Dhabi has been slow to join the regional real estate boom, the emirate has already launched several huge projects. As part of government efforts to fill the gap in the supply for residential units within the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi is expected to spend in excess of $200 billion over the next five years on infrastructure projects, and welcome over 140,000 housing units by 2013. A population surge, a series of legislative reforms in 2005 governing property ownership and the phenomenal growth witnessed within neighboring Dubai have constituted the main drivers for real estate investment in the emirate. Furthermore, there is newfound emphasis on developing Abu Dhabi’s tourism, industrial and real estate sectors to diversify the economy towards private sector oriented growth, and away from hydrocarbon revenue dependence. Leading Dubai real estate company Bonyan International Investment Group (Holding) L.L.C. has begun to seriously consider the neighboring emirate as
