Ajman Free Zone

This district takes its name from the Ajman Free Zone, the emirate's first free zone, set up in 1988 beside Ajman Port on the creek that runs inland from the sea. The free zone itself is a business and light-industrial hub of offices, warehouses and thousands of licensed companies, and the area around it, on the edge of Al Rashidiya, mixes port facilities, commercial buildings and apartment blocks.

Residential development here is relatively new. The main project is Ajman Creek Towers by GJ Properties, an Ajman-based developer: a group of apartment towers on the banks of a side channel of Ajman Creek, close to Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street. Projects like this are aimed at buyers who want a new-build apartment close to the centre of Ajman at Ajman prices.

The appeal is location. Ajman Corniche, with its beach and hotels, is a few minutes away, and Sharjah and Dubai are reachable along the E11 and E311. The drawbacks are the working-port surroundings, with lorries and warehouses nearby, limited greenery, and the heavy traffic between Sharjah and Dubai at peak times, which anyone commuting south will feel.

• 01

  Minutes from the Corniche

  Ajman Corniche, with its public beach, cafés and hotels such as Fairmont Ajman and Ajman Saray, is a short drive away.

• 02

  Creekside setting

  The new towers sit on a side channel of Ajman Creek, giving many apartments water views, and abras run between stations along the creek.

• 03

  Close to work

  The Ajman Free Zone and Ajman Port are major local employers, so homes here suit people who work nearby and want a very short commute.

• 04

  Freehold for foreign buyers

  Designated projects, including the new creekside towers, are sold as freehold, so buyers of any nationality can own apartments outright.

Daily life is practical. Supermarkets, pharmacies and small restaurants line the main streets of Al Rashidiya and the neighbouring districts, and new towers usually include shops on their lower floors. For a bigger outing, residents head to the Corniche for the beach and seafront cafés, or to City Centre Ajman, about 10 minutes away, for a full mall with a hypermarket and cinema.

Rashidiya Park and other neighbourhood parks are close by, the Ajman Museum in the old fort is a short drive away, and the mangroves and golf course of Al Zorah are about 15 minutes north. Sharjah's waterfront and malls are close too, just across the emirate border.

The district is reached along Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street and connects to Al Ittihad Road (E11) towards Sharjah and Dubai, and inland to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road (E311). Ajman's public buses and the abras on the creek cover some local trips, and intercity buses run to Sharjah and Dubai, but most residents drive or use taxis. Traffic heading towards Dubai in the morning, and back in the evening, is heavy.

Ajman has a wide range of private schools following Indian, British, American and Arabic curricula, and several are within 10–15 minutes of the district; Ajman Academy, an IB school in Al Tallah, is one of the better-known international options. For healthcare, Amina Hospital is a few minutes away, and Thumbay University Hospital, a large teaching hospital in Al Jurf, is about 10–15 minutes by car.

Housing here is almost entirely apartments, mostly studios to two-bedroom units in mid- and high-rise buildings. The newest stock, such as Ajman Creek Towers, is sold off-plan with long payment plans and comes with podium pools, gyms and ground-floor shops. Older buildings in Al Rashidiya and nearby districts are simpler and mainly rented to people who work in Ajman, Sharjah and Dubai.

Buyers are mainly investors and first-time owners priced out of Dubai, alongside people who work in the free zone. Before buying, confirm that the building is in a freehold-designated project open to your nationality, check the developer's delivery record and construction progress, and look at what surrounds the plot: a creek view and a view over warehouses make for very different homes.