Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - ALDAR Academies today inaugurated the second international school under its wing. With 30 million AED invested in academic resources for a state-of-the-art learning facility, Al Yasmina offers its young population world-class education and superb learning environment .

Al Yasmina is the second school to be established under the umbrella of ALDAR Academies. The first was the Pearl Primary School, which opened in 2007 in downtown Abu Dhabi. Al Yasmina, on the other hand, is the first school to be fully constructed by ALDAR, and the first to be established within the boundaries of ALDAR developments. ALDAR Academies plans to build 20 schools within the next five years both within its own communities and elsewhere in the Emirate.

At a construction cost of 150 million AED, the British curriculum Al Yasmina caters to children from foundation 1 to year 9 for its inaugural years, and in subsequent years will expand to year 13. The school has a capacity for 2,000 pupils, and boasts one of the best teacher to pupil ratios:1:24 for the kindergarten and primary level, and 1:20 for the secondary. .

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Ronald Stephen Barrott, CEO, ALDAR PropertiesALDAR Properties, said "Providing world-class education for our own developments and for the greater Abu Dhabi has always been a major pillar of ALDAR's strategy. The ambitious plans of ALDAR Academies will go a long way in establishing ALDAR as a leading integrated developer with strong commitment to its own clients and to the Emirate of Abu Dhabi."

Al Yasmina is compliant with Abu Dhabi Educational Council's criteria for design, room size and other learning criteria. Al Yasmina is equipped with a wide range of facilities essential to provide the best in education and extra curricular activities. Along with the core subjects, students will also be given lessons in French, Arabic, and Islamic studies in a bid to inculcate cross-cultural understanding. The school provides for excellent specialist facilities, which involve extra tutoring and will also provide additional learning support specialists to ensure that the individual learning needs of pupils are met.

Swimming pools, a gymnasium, two junior halls, an activity studio, two Astroturf pitches and recreational areas are available for the students to contribute to their team playing skills and necessary physical education for better health. There are also separate and secure play areas for each of the different school stages. The Design Technology Department provides specialist areas for learning activities relating to food preparation, resistant materials and electronics. The school further provides for exclusive performance spaces like an auditorium, amphitheatre, drama studio and recital rooms.

The infrastructure is equipped with extensive libraries, science laboratories, a well-equipped multipurpose hall, vast outdoor playing areas with a range of apparatus for all ages, and a dining area. The entire school is networked.

The school is provided with an in-house cafeteria where a variety of healthy and nutritious meals will be served. Optimum care has been taken to provide for balanced meals keeping in mind the varied age of children in the school.

ALDAR is aiming to build and operate 20 new schools with a capacity for 20,000 students in Abu Dhabi over the next 5 years.

- Ends -

About ALDAR PropertiesALDAR Properties:
ALDAR PropertiesALDAR Properties PJSC is a premier real estate development, management and investment company with headquarters in Abu Dhabi, UAE. ALDAR was established to create world-class real estate developments for Abu Dhabi, while providing stable and profitable investment portfolio for all our investors and stakeholders

ALDAR PropertiesALDAR Properties PJSC is spearheading the development of Abu Dhabi; entrusted to create multi-billion Dirham civic projects to develop the capital, establishing new sectors for commerce, housing, retail and leisure. ALDAR's vision is to establish Abu Dhabi as the United Arab Emirate's most dynamic forward-thinking real estate market by creating unique and prestigious developments that can be used as a benchmark of quality, whilst adhering to the cultural and natural heritage of the city.

Since its inception in 2004 through a share offer (IPO) of AED 1.5 billion (USD 408 million) on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, ALDAR has already announced more than USD 72 billion worth of developments. The ALDAR issue, the largest IPO in the history of the UAE at the time, was 448 times oversubscribed and raised an unprecedented AED 373 billion (USD 102 billion) in demand. ALDAR's market capitalization is AED 32.3 billion (US$ 8.7 billion).as of July 24th 2008.Total retail area across all developments is currently over 1.5 million square meters.

The company is owned by leading Abu Dhabi institutions, founder shareholders and individual investors. The current property portfolio includes major developments and re-developments within Abu Dhabi Emirate such as Central Market, Al Raha Beach, Coconut Island, Noor Al Ain, Al Gurm Resort, Al Mamoura - the Mubadala Development Company and Environment Agency Abu Dhabi Headquarter Building, and the YAS Island project which is to include a Warner Bros and a Ferrari theme park.

ALDAR's first international expansion was announced in August 2007 via a tie-up with South Johor Investment Corp (SJIC) in a deal that represents the largest foreign real estate development in Malaysia. This was followed in October 2007 with plans announced to build a mixed-use development in Kazakhstan.

For more information, please contact:
Mohamed Afifi
Buchanan Middle East
Tel: +971 (0) 4 369 8553
Mobile: +971 (0) 50 708 2248
Email: mohamed.afifi@buchananme.com

© Press Release 2008 from Buchanan ME

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