A 3,800-home plan takes shape near UAE’s Fourth Corridor

An Abu Dhabi plot near the route of the UAE’s planned Fourth Corridor could bring about 3,800 homes to market in 2027 or 2028. Reportage Group has already acquired the nearly 750,000-square-metre site, group managing director Andrea Nucera told Khaleej Times. The homes are still being designed, but the purchase shows how developers are positioning themselves around a road that promises to change journeys between Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The 80km highway is drawing developers’ attention as new residents arrive and the citizen population grows, supporting demand for housing, according to the newspaper. The attraction is straightforward: a shorter commute can make a previously inconvenient address more appealing. On one section of the planned route, a journey now taking 35 minutes could fall to 14 minutes. Developers see that improved access supporting both homes and commercial premises along and around the corridor.

A new route into growing communities

Announced in September 2026, the Fourth Corridor is intended to become the fourth strategic road link between the emirates. It follows Sheikh Zayed Road/Al Ittihad Road, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road. The project is planned in two phases, expected to serve around 600,000 people and 3.1 million people, respectively. It connects with Dubai-Al Ain Road and supports access to areas around Al Maktoum International Airport, while also linking major growth drivers including Etihad Rail.

For Reportage, the land purchase comes as selling conditions become less exuberant. Nucera said the property market had changed sharply over the preceding 18 months. During the strongest part of the boom, developers could bring almost any project to market and find eager buyers, he said. Conditions had since become more normal, although sales in the UAE remained exceptionally fast compared with other countries where he had worked.

Speaking alongside the launch of Reportage’s Verso and Époque projects in Meydan, Nucera said the company had kept its approach unchanged. Its products and prices remained aligned with a strategy focused on helping customers make money. The likely 2027 or 2028 launch for the Abu Dhabi site remains a projection rather than a firm date.

Better access does not guarantee higher rents

Pantheon chairman Kalpesh Kinariwala told Khaleej Times that transport connections are central to the company’s view of property. They influence where people choose to live, work and invest. He expects shorter journeys between the three emirates to broaden the appeal of locations near the corridor and create opportunities as those areas develop.

Kinariwala said the corridor’s biggest effect would be to improve accessibility and, with it, an area’s potential.

That could help rents rise as communities gain amenities, jobs and services, he said. But a road alone does not set rental levels. The quality of buildings, the amount of property available, local facilities and the strength of demand all matter. For developers, the challenge is to spot promising areas early and build communities suited to the access the new highway provides.

Kinariwala said Pantheon would keep assessing opportunities outside established districts as Dubai grows eastward and southward, including projects combining homes with other uses. What comes next will be worth watching: how developers turn improved connectivity into workable communities, and whether Reportage’s planned homes reach the market within Nucera’s indicated window.