Omniyat's Marasi Bay island: a beach club by the Burj Khalifa and a fully funded $11.7bn portfolio

A beach in central Dubai is a rare thing. Business Bay has water, but it is a canal and a bay rather than the sea, and the coast is a drive away from Downtown. In June 2025 Omniyat announced a fix for its own residents: it acquired a reclaimed island on the north side of Marasi Bay and is building the only urban beach club in the Burj Khalifa district.

What is planned on the island

The island ties Omniyat's projects around the bay into one cluster serviced by Dorchester Collection. That includes The Lana, Dorchester Collection's first hotel in the Middle East, and the VELA and VELA Viento residences. VELA Viento owners get Sunset Park, a private floating island of about 30 000 sq ft with lounges, yoga terraces, a chef's kitchen and its own jetty. The wider plan adds yacht berths, restaurants and art spaces along the waterfront.

VELA Viento itself is a 180-metre tower by Foster + Partners with 95 residences, terrace pools and double-height living rooms, and an amenity deck more than 100 metres up.

Funding: a sukuk and a fully funded pipeline

For anyone buying ultra-prime off-plan, the first question is whether the developer will finish if sales slow. Omniyat answered with numbers in 2026:

• in March it priced a $600m (about AED 2.2bn) sukuk at 7.25%, with an order book of $1.8bn — three times covered;
• it now has three sukuk issues totalling $1.5bn, maturities running to 2031 and no material short-term debt;
• its launched portfolio, with a gross development value of $11.7bn across Palm Jumeirah, Marasi Marina, Dubai Maritime City, Dubai Islands and Sheikh Zayed Road, is described as fully funded to completion;
• it recorded more than $729m of further sales in early 2026, lifting its revenue backlog to $6.1bn.

A 7.25% coupon is not cheap money. The developer is paying to make construction independent of the pace of sales — which, for an off-plan buyer, is the right trade. Delivery risk in general is discussed in our piece on late handovers.

What it means for buyers

• Amenities sell homes. A beach club and a floating park are something neighbouring Business Bay towers cannot offer, and it should show in resale prices of Omniyat's bayside projects.
• Access may be limited. Ask exactly who can use the club — every resident of the cluster or only owners in a given tower — and what it costs each year.
• Service charges run high. Dorchester Collection service is paid for through running costs well above the district average.

How Omniyat operates at the top of the market is covered in our Omniyat developer profile. The first tower of the cluster, VELA, stands alongside.

Layouts, views and timing are on the VELA Viento project page.