Who Is Emaar, and What Does the Name Mean?

Emaar is the Dubai property developer behind Burj Khalifa, The Dubai Mall and Downtown Dubai. Its name is the Arabic word إعمار (i'mar), usually translated as development or construction.

The company is formally Emaar Properties PJSC. It was incorporated in 1997, was founded by Mohamed Alabbar and has been listed on the Dubai Financial Market since March 2000. Company figures below come from Emaar's own website, read on 30 October 2026.

Who is Emaar? The company at a glance

What does Emaar mean?

Emaar comes from the Arabic إعمار, which means development, construction or building up. That is why it suits a company whose business is building whole districts. People also search for what Emaar means in Dubai or in Arabic: the answer is the same, because Emaar is simply the Arabic word used as the company's brand.

The spelling is Emaar. You will also see "Emmar" in searches, but that is a misspelling and not a different company.

What is Emaar in Dubai?

In Dubai, Emaar is the name attached to some of the city's best-known places: Burj Khalifa, The Dubai Mall, the Dubai Fountain and the Downtown Dubai district around them. It is also a developer that sells new homes today, from apartments in Dubai Hills Estate to villas in The Valley and The Oasis by Emaar.

Who owns Emaar?

Emaar is a public company, so its shares trade on the Dubai Financial Market and anyone can buy them within the ownership limits. Emaar's investor page names the Investment Corporation of Dubai as the largest shareholder, at approximately 30 percent, and sets the foreign ownership limit at 49 percent. For the current shareholder list, check Emaar's latest annual report.

What businesses does Emaar run?

• Emaar Development is the company's UAE build-to-sell property arm. It listed on the Dubai Financial Market on 22 November 2017 at AED 6.03 a share.
• Emaar Malls, Emaar Hospitality, Emaar Entertainment and Emaar Leisure are listed on Emaar's website as its other businesses, covering shopping, hotels and attractions.
• Emaar Properties is the parent group that holds these together and also develops outside the UAE.

For the homes Emaar is selling now, see our page on Emaar's current projects, or the longer Emaar developer guide.

Does Emaar own Burj Khalifa?

Emaar developed Burj Khalifa, and Emaar's website presents it, with The Dubai Mall and the Dubai Fountain, as one of its flagship destinations. The tower opened on 4 January 2010. Who owns a particular apartment or office inside it is a separate question, because individual units have their own owners and title deeds.

What has Emaar built?

To see how these compare for living and investing, read Emaar communities compared.

What does buying from Emaar mean in practice?

Mostly, it means a masterplan that gets finished. Buyers pay a premium for an Emaar community not because of the finish inside one apartment, but because of the confidence that the park, the school, the mall and the roads will appear, as Emaar has delivered whole districts before.

Payment plans differ from project to project, so confirm the one for the unit you want in writing. Our guide to Emaar payment plans explains how they are usually structured.

Does that make Emaar the safe choice?

Safer, not risk free. Large developers still miss handover dates, and an Emaar community still contains individual buildings that resell better or worse than their neighbours. Position within the masterplan matters as much as the name on it: backing onto a park is a different asset from backing onto a service road, whoever built it. If a date does slip, see your rights on off-plan handover delays.

There is also a premium built into the price. You pay more per square foot for an Emaar address than for a comparable unit from a smaller developer nearby, and part of the investment question is whether that premium is already priced in by the time you buy.

How does Emaar compare with other Dubai developers?

DAMAC, Nakheel, Meraas, Sobha and Binghatti all build at scale too, and each has its own pattern: some price more aggressively, some finish faster, some are stronger on interiors than on masterplanning. The practical difference for a buyer is delivery record. Ask any developer for the handover dates it announced on its last three completed projects and the dates they actually handed over. That comparison tells you more than any brochure.

What should I check on an Emaar project?

The handover quarter in writing, the payment plan in writing, and where your specific unit sits in the community rather than where the community sits in Dubai. Browse current off-plan projects, compare communities, or ask us which phase is actually worth buying.