UAE’s Waha Land, part of Waha Capital has signed a AED 426 million ($ 115.9 million) financing agreement with Emirates Islamic Bank for the development of Almarkaz industrial real estate project near Abu Dhabi, Arabian Business reported.

After previously existing facilities were leased, phase 2 is due to add an additional 187,000 square meters of industrial and logistical facilities, and include retail and commercial amenities, the company announced in a statement, adding that the new phase will be executed in two packages, for the first buildings to be completed and available by June 2017.

Ali & Sons Contracting has also been assigned the delivery of the initial 92,500 square meter package.

The project lies 25 kilometers south of the city of Abu Dhabi and benefits from the proximity to regional transportation networks, according to Trade Arabia.

“Almarkaz has proven extremely popular because of the quality of the facility, and its excellent location as a hub in transport infrastructure,” Chief Executive of Waha Land, Hazem Saeed Al Nowais said.

“This success has enabled the project to achieve attractive financing. Building on the success of Stage One, we are moving ahead with our planned development, which aims to meet the needs of the Abu Dhabi manufacturing and logistics market in addition to SMEs (small and medium enterprises),” added Al Nowais.

“The ability to raise financing with the given economic backdrop further underscores the strong value proposition of the Waha Land business model and the strength of the Almarkaz Industrial Development,” he said.