Jebel Ali is a coastal district lying to the South of Dubai. If you look on a map for Palm Jebel Ali, it’s right there.
Palm Jebel Ali is not yet populated, but the same cannot be said of Jebel Ali Port which is the largest marine terminal in the Middle East, and the world’s ninth largest container port. It has the world’s largest man-made harbour and can accommodate ships of any size in existence and on the order book.
A significant benefit for Jebel Ali Port is its location within Jebel Ali Free Zone. Established in 1985, the free zone currently houses more than 7,000 companies active in manufacturing, trade, logistics and a range of industrial and service-orientated sectors.
Jebel Ali Port & Free Zone, known as Jafza, has grown from a small operation of just 19 companies to a thriving business community today that provides jobs for 135,000 people and attracts more than 20% of the UAE’s foreign direct investment. More than 50% of Dubai’s total exports pass through this port with a trade value of $69 billion.
Jebel Ali is a heavily industrialised district that has paid little attention to housing since its inception in the 1980s. Jebel Ali Village was built in the 1970s to provide accommodation to expatriates and has now been refurbished to provide low rent housing. Not everyone is happy with the quality of the work, but people seem to like living here.
The 2008 property crash put a stop to several planned residential developments, and it wasn't until 2017 that some of those redrafted plans were being put out to tender. Nakheel, the palm islands developer, aims to build 80 apartment buildings at Madinat Al Arab on the site of the Dubai Waterfront project, a stretch of coastline facing Palm Jebel Ali.
Meanwhile on the land side of the Waterfront Canal the same developer has completed 177 villas and townhouses for lease at its Veneto community a ‘distinctive’ residential district comprising 1,400 villas and townhouses, and 1,200 low-rise apartments.
Downtown Jebel Ali is another yet-to-be-built development. Infrastructure work is about to start on this 200-hectare mixed-use community that will stretch for 11km along Sheikh Zayed Road. There are more than 300 third party plots available to investors for building a mixture of apartments, hotels, offices and retail developments.
In summary, as a place to live, Jebel Ali is still tomorrow’s world.
From Jebel Ali District it takes roughly 24 minutes to drive to Dubai Mall, 16 minutes to Palm Jumeirah, 22 minutes to Burj Al Arab and 17 minutes to The Walk JBR.*
Dubai International Airport (DXB) is roughly 49 minutes' drive and the new Al Maktoum International Airport is roughly 22 minutes' drive.*
Jebel Ali is located towards the southern end of Dubai’s coastline and alongside Sheikh Zayed Road, the main highway though Dubai and onwards to Abu Dhabi.
Jebel Ali is the end point of the red metro line and has three stations: Jebel Ali, Danube and Energy. Journey times to Dubai Mall and the international airport are around 30 and 60 minutes respectively.
There are 102 sub-communities in Jebel Ali District. Learn more in the following guides.
For the thousands who work in the Port Free Zone or the Technology Park and who choose to live nearby there is a limited menu of attractions apart from a trip to Ibn Battutu, the world’s largest themed shopping mall, consisting of six stylised courts: Egypt, India, China, Andalusia, Persia and Tunisia. With 275 shops, 50 restaurants, a 21-screen cinema including an IMAX theatre you could happily spend all day there.
For those who don’t get a kick out of shopping there’s always the Jebel Ali shooting club, or a trip into nearby Dubai Marina where there’s lots more to do.
Jebel Ali is located towards the southern end of Dubai’s coastline and alongside Sheikh Zayed Road, the main highway though Dubai and onwards to Abu Dhabi.
The map below shows the location of Jebel Ali District and just below are summaries of the nearest attractions, parks, beaches, golf clubs and cinemas.
Jebel Ali District does not yet have any schools nearby with the closest school being Ghaf Private School at 5.5 km.
Explore communities that are either adjacent or close to Jebel Ali District.
We currently maintain records for 585 building developments in Jebel Ali District.
Propsearch.ae is a Dubai property portal that hosts ads from a number of local real estate agencies. In addition we offer a comprehensive set of community and building guides to help property buyers, renters and investors learn about the areas and buildings that they may wish to live or invest in.
Any enquiries sent regarding a specific property go directly to the estate agent that advertised the property and Propsearch does not play any role in any transactions that may result. Enquires that are sent directly to Propsearch are forwarded to a trusted partner agency that is best suited to handle the enquiry.
Please note that whilst we have a large database of buildings and developments, Propsearch is not a property developer, nor an agent, nor an architect, nor a construction contractor.