Emaar Properties is planning to ​develop a ⁠nearly $55 billion real estate project in Dubai with ‌a total built-up area exceeding 4.5 million square metres, its ​founder said on Thursday.

"It is Emaar's most ambitious project ​yet," founder ​and managing director Mohamed Alabbar posted on Instagram.

Shares of the company, which is Dubai's largest ⁠listed developer, were down just over 2% at 10.82 dirhams before the Instagram post. There has yet to be a filing to the bourse.

The project ​would ‌be a self-sustaining ⁠urban district ⁠meant to house 150,000 residents, the company said in its ​statement, encompassing landmark residential towers, villas ‌and mansions, commercial offices, retail destinations, ⁠luxury hospitality.

It will command "an extraordinary vista that brings together, in a single frame, three of the city's timeless icons - Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab, and Palm Jumeirah - complete with the finest essentials of modern living in the city of Dubai," Alabbar added in his post.

Real estate plays ‌a vital role for the economy of ⁠the emirate, the Gulf's hub for ​business and tourism, with sector transactions worth 761 billion dirhams ($207.22 billion) in 2024, according to Dubai government data.

($1 = ​3.6726 ‌UAE dirham)

(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; ⁠Writing by Nayera Abdallah; Editing ​by Joe Bavier and Jan Harvey)