Samana Portside Downtown Jebel Ali Dubai

Samana Portside is an apartment building by Samana Developers in Downtown Jebel Ali, on the Sheikh Zayed Road corridor near the Red Line Metro. It follows Samana's usual formula: every apartment has its own private pool, and the payment plan starts small. It is a low-rise block of a ground floor, three parking levels and nine residential floors, and it has a separate sister building, Portside 2, sold under a different company.

Samana's own page prices convertible one-bedrooms of about 623 sq ft from AED 1.09 million (about Rs 2.81 crore) and two-bedrooms of about 933 sq ft from AED 1.39 million. Buyers put down 10% or 15%, then 5% at month 6 and 5% at month 12, and handover is on record for Q3 2029. Below we set out the prices, the part of the plan that is published and the part that is not, and who this suits.

At a glance

Price and unit pricing

We print AED 1.09 million because it is the developer's own figure; the portal quotes of AED 1.1 and 1.4 million are rounded versions of the same prices, within 1%. The source listing carries no price. Samana's price list on the day you book is what settles the number.

Per square foot, Portside is not the cheapest address in Downtown Jebel Ali. Our page on Azizi Gabriel shows studios at about AED 1,710 per sq ft, and Eleve by Deyaar's one-bedrooms start near AED 1,175. Portside's one-bedroom at about AED 1,750 is at the top of that range. What the extra buys is a pool inside the apartment and a layout that Samana says converts into a two-bedroom, which none of those buildings offers.

A private pool also takes space. Ask whether the 623 sq ft of a one-bedroom includes its pool and terrace; if it does, the indoor living space is smaller than the headline. Get the floor plan with the indoor area and the pool marked separately before you compare rates.

Payment plan and total cost

Samana offers two ways in, and the difference between them matters more to an overseas buyer than it first looks.

Post-dated cheques are drawn on a UAE bank account. A buyer living in India without one will usually find Option B, 15% down and no cheques, the practical choice. The sources checked do not say how many monthly instalments follow month 12, nor how much of the balance falls at or after handover, so neither the monthly figure nor the handover payment can be worked out yet. Ask Samana for the schedule in writing.

Worked example: the AED 1.09 M one-bedroom, Option A

Your first-year cash on Option A is about AED 261,640: the 10%, the DLD fee and the two 5% steps. On Option B the down payment rises to AED 163,500 and the year's total to about AED 316,140. Samana's own admin fee is extra and not stated by the sources checked. There is no sales tax and no VAT on a residential sale.

Service charge. No figure for Portside is published. A private pool in every unit means more plant, more water and more maintenance than a plain building, so expect the charge to sit above the district's ordinary blocks. Samana's own guide explains that charges are approved and published on Mollak, the DLD's service-charge platform; ask for the budgeted rate per sq ft before booking.

Location and connectivity

Downtown Jebel Ali sits on Sheikh Zayed Road at the southern end of Dubai, planned around the Jebel Ali Free Zone. Its strongest feature is the Red Line Metro: Jebel Ali station, renamed National Paints in 2024, has an entrance into the district, and Dubai Marina is about 20 minutes away. Samana's own description of Portside leans on the same three things: the Metro, the Jebel Ali business district and Al Maktoum International Airport.

Ibn Battuta Mall is about ten minutes by road, and Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) and Expo City about 15 to 20 minutes. The tenants are staff of JAFZA and Dubai South companies who want a short commute and a Metro stop, at rents below the Marina's.

The district is still filling up. Azizi, Deyaar, Imtiaz and Samana all have buildings rising here, several due in 2027 and 2028, so by the time Portside is handed over in 2029 its tenants will have plenty of choice. A private pool is the feature that separates a Portside flat from the plain studios around it, and that is the argument a landlord here will be making.

Imtiaz's furnished Raw District is also on this stretch of Sheikh Zayed Road. See all Dubai projects we track or browse the full projects list.

Amenities and specifications

The defining feature is inside the apartment: every residence has its own private pool, and every layout is designed to convert. Samana says the one-bedrooms can adapt into two-bedroom layouts and the two-bedrooms into three-bedroom layouts, which in practice means a flexible room that can be closed off as a bedroom or study.

Shared facilities are modest, and Samana itself calls the package "purposeful rather than excessive": adult and children's pools, indoor and outdoor gyms, an outdoor cinema and barbecue areas. That is a sensible list for a nine-floor residential block and should keep the shared part of the service charge in check, even if the private pools do not.

Not published: kitchen appliances, whether units come furnished, smart-home fittings, and parking allocation per unit. Everything is final as per the SPA.

About the developer

Samana Developers was founded in Dubai in 2016 and has grown into one of the emirate's highest-volume off-plan sellers, ranked among the top five by sales. Its first project, Samana Greens, launched in 2018 and was delivered, and the company says it has handed over more than 1,300 units.

The recent record is active. Samana completed and handed over Samana Santorini in 2026 and Samana Miami in Jumeirah Village Circle in July 2026, and it has said it will hand over six projects in 2026 and eleven in 2027. In April 2026 it launched five Dubai projects worth Dh1.9 billion in one go.

That volume is the thing to weigh. A developer delivering at this pace has the systems to finish buildings, and a developer running this many sites at once is also where delays come from. Portside's separate project company and escrow help here: your money is ring-fenced to this building rather than pooled with Portside 2 or the rest of the portfolio.

For Indian buyers

Ownership. Downtown Jebel Ali is a freehold area, so an Indian citizen owns the apartment outright with a title deed issued by the Dubai Land Department. Until the building is complete the purchase is registered on Oqood, the DLD's off-plan register. There is no annual property tax in the UAE and no VAT on a residential sale.

Remittance. Under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme each person can send USD 250,000 per financial year, and a couple USD 500,000. The AED 1.09 million one-bedroom is about USD 297,000, above one person's yearly limit, but the plan spreads it thinly: the first year's payments on Option A, about AED 261,640 with the DLD fee, are about USD 71,200. One remitter can therefore fund the purchase over the plan's life. Tax collected at source applies above the threshold and is credited against your Indian tax.

Golden Visa. The threshold is AED 2 million of property. The two-bedroom at AED 1.39 million falls about AED 610,000 short, so a Portside unit alone does not qualify.

Rent and tax. District one-bedrooms let from about AED 54,000 a year, and area guides put the district's one-bedroom yield near 5.4% gross. On AED 1.09 million, AED 54,000 is about 5.0% gross before the service charge; a pool may lift the rent, but no source measures by how much. The UAE does not tax rent, but an Indian tax resident declares it as income from house property with the 30% standard deduction and reports the asset in Schedule FA each year.

Exit. Reselling before handover usually needs the developer's consent and a minimum share paid; check the SPA's transfer clause before relying on an early sale.

Pros

• A private pool in every apartment at about AED 1,750 per sq ft; the other Downtown Jebel Ali launches on our list have none
• Convertible layouts give a one-bedroom price with a usable second room
• Only 10% or 15% down, then 5% steps, so the cash goes out slowly
• A 15% down option without post-dated cheques suits buyers with no UAE bank account
• Its own project company and escrow, separate from Portside 2
• Samana is delivering: Santorini and Miami were handed over in 2026

Cons

• Handover in Q3 2029 is three years away, later than most of the district
• The instalment schedule after month 12 is not published, so the full cash flow is unknown
• Private pools add running and maintenance costs; no service charge is published
• Per sq ft the one-bedroom costs more than Azizi Abraham or Eleve studios nearby
• Samana has many buildings under way at once, which is where delays come from
• No unit reaches the AED 2 M Golden Visa threshold on its own

Who this is for

• Buyers who want a private-pool apartment near JAFZA and the Metro for under AED 1.5 M
• Investors comfortable waiting until late 2029 for rent
• Indian buyers who want a low entry payment spread over many months
• Families who want a one-bedroom that can work as a two-bedroom

Who should look elsewhere

• Anyone who needs rent before 2030
• Buyers who want the full payment schedule in writing before they book
• Investors chasing the lowest AED per sq ft in the district
• Owners who do not want a pool to maintain

Our verdict

Portside is Samana doing what Samana always does, in a new district: a pool in every apartment and a very gentle start to the payment plan. At AED 1.09 M for about 623 sq ft, the one-bedroom costs roughly AED 1,750 per sq ft, which is above the district's plain studios but buys a layout that converts to a second bedroom and a pool that the plain blocks around it do not have. The weak spots are time and paperwork. Handover is Q3 2029, and the instalment schedule after month 12 is not published, so a buyer cannot yet see how much is due at handover. The developer is delivering buildings in 2026, but it is also running a very large number at once.

A reasonable buy for someone who wants a private-pool apartment near JAFZA and the Metro and can wait three years. Get the full payment schedule, the admin fee and the budgeted service charge in writing before you pay the 10% or 15%, and make sure the SPA names Portside's own project company. Buyers who need rent sooner should compare the district's 2027 handovers first.

Talk to Realty Hunting for the current price list, the developer's latest payment plan and a site-visit plan.

Run this project's numbers yourself. The calculator opens on the price and unit size above; change the currency, the rent or the mortgage and it recalculates the fees, the cash you need on day one and the net rent.

FAQs

What is the starting price of Samana Portside?

Samana's own page prints one-bedrooms from AED 1.09 M, about Rs 2.81 crore, and two-bedrooms from AED 1.39 M. A project portal prints AED 1,100,000 for a 623 sq ft one-bedroom and AED 1,400,000 for a 933 sq ft two-bedroom. The developer's price list on the day settles it.

What is the payment plan?

10% down with post-dated cheques or 15% down without them, then 5% in month 6 and 5% in month 12, and the rest in monthly instalments. The sources checked do not say how many instalments there are or how much is due at handover, so ask for the full schedule.

When is the handover?

Q3 2029, with one page giving July 2029. The date on your Oqood registration is the one to hold Samana to.

Does every apartment really have a private pool?

Yes, according to Samana: every residence is a convertible home with its own private pool. Ask for the pool's size and position on your floor plan, since it takes space from the suite area.

Is Portside the same as Portside 2?

No. One project page says Portside is held by Samana Islands Real Estate Development with its own escrow, and Portside 2 by a separate company, Samana Platinum, with a separate escrow. Check which one your SPA names.

Can an Indian citizen buy here?

Yes. Downtown Jebel Ali is freehold and the title deed is issued in your name. The AED 1.09 M one-bedroom is about USD 297,000, above one person's USD 250,000 yearly LRS allowance but spread over several years by the plan.

Does it qualify for the Golden Visa?

Not on one unit. The threshold is AED 2 M of property and the two-bedroom starts at AED 1.39 M.

What rent can it earn?

District one-bedrooms let from about AED 54,000 a year, about 5% gross on AED 1.09 M before service charges. Whether a private pool earns a premium over that is not measured by the sources checked.

Compare with other Dubai projects

Also in Downtown Jebel Ali: Azizi Aryan (from AED 613,000, handover 2026), Azizi Gabriel (from AED 564,000, handover 2028), Eleve by Deyaar (from AED 555,458, handover 2027) and Azizi Abraham (from AED 505,000, handover 2027). See every Downtown Dubai project with prices and handover dates.

More by Samana Developers: Samana California 2 (from AED 975K, handover 2027), Samana Avenue (from AED 955,576, handover 2026) and Samana Imperial Garden (from AED 859,000, handover 2028).

A similar budget elsewhere in Dubai: Prive Residence (from AED 1.09 M, ready), Danube Oceanz (from AED 1.1 M, handover 2027) and Emaar Green Square (from AED 1,100,000, ready).

Read next: Off-Plan Property in Dubai: How It Works · Dubai Property Payment Plans: 1% Monthly, Post-Handover and More · The Cost of Buying Property in Dubai. Every Dubai project we track is listed on the Dubai section.