Sobha Central The Horizon Sheikh Zayed Road Dubai

Sobha Central is Sobha Realty's six-tower, mixed-use plan directly on Sheikh Zayed Road in the Jebel Ali district, a two-minute walk from Jebel Ali Metro Station and next door to Jumeirah Lake Towers. Every tower sits on a shared podium topped by a 250,000 sq ft park, with a 160,000 sq ft mall and about 175,000 sq ft of offices below. The Horizon is the first tower: ground plus 75 floors, 1,225 apartments, all 1 and 2 BHK, handover December 2029.

The source listing carries no price. Property Finder prints AED 1.68 million (about Rs 4.33 crore) for a 1 BHK of 568 to 781 sq ft and AED 2.55 million for a 2 BHK of 936 to 1,554 sq ft. Metropolitan's tower page shows AED 1.52 million and AED 2.48 million, and dxboffplan AED 1.6 million, which read as earlier releases. The plan is 60/40, with 20% on booking and nothing after the keys. Every UAE project we track is on the Dubai section.

At a glance

Price and unit pricing

Three starting prices are in print for the same 1 BHK, and none is the developer's own list, which we could not read. Property Finder's is the most recent and the highest, so we use it as the working number. The Pinnacle starts from AED 1.7 million and The Mirage from AED 1.95 million, so The Horizon is the cheapest way in.

On the smallest unit the entry price works out near AED 3,000 per sq ft. That is a Sobha and Sheikh Zayed Road premium: JLT's towers next door were bought at far less per sq ft, and this is the Jebel Ali stretch of the road, not the Downtown or DIFC end. A broker's AED 1.4 million matches nothing else; treat it as noise.

Payment plan and total cost

The plan is 60/40: 20% on booking, 40% in milestone-linked instalments through construction and 40% on handover in December 2029. No source prints the instalment schedule; the sale and purchase agreement settles it. Our guide to Dubai payment plans explains how a milestone-linked schedule works.

On top of the price come the 4% DLD transfer fee, the AED 40 Oqood registration for an off-plan unit, a registration trustee fee of about AED 4,000, and 2% agency commission plus VAT if you buy through a broker. Worked at the Property Finder 1 BHK figure:

Add about AED 33,600 plus VAT if a broker is in the chain. Service charges are not published; JLT towers run AED 12 to 18 per sq ft a year, and a 76-floor tower with a podium park and a mall to keep will sit at or above the top of that. AED 20 per sq ft on a 568 sq ft unit is about AED 11,400 a year. The full fee stack is in our note on the cost of buying in Dubai.

Location and connectivity

The site is on the Jebel Ali stretch of Sheikh Zayed Road, on the E11 itself, two minutes on foot from Jebel Ali Metro Station on the Red Line, where the Route 2020 branch to Expo City also joins. Broker pages put Dubai Marina and JBR about 15 minutes away by car and both airports at 30 to 35 minutes. The upper floors look over Bluewaters Island, Palm Jumeirah and the sea, and one portal notes no other tower stands within 500 m of the plot today. Our area page covers JLT, where a tenant here would otherwise look.

What you do not get, yet, is a finished neighbourhood: the park, the mall and the offices are part of the same build, and the other five towers will be under construction around The Horizon for years after its own handover. Sobha's other launch on the road, Sobha Elwood, is a separate site further along.

Amenities and specifications

All the towers share the podium, with the 250,000 sq ft park on top laid out as themed gardens, jogging paths and shaded seating, and the mall, restaurants, co-working space and offices below. The residential amenities quoted are swimming pools, a gym, sports courts, a yoga deck, a meditation area, a spa, a barbecue deck and children's play areas. The apartments have floor-to-ceiling glazing; finishes, appliances and parking allocation are not itemised by any source we found. Sobha's Dubai buildings come with fitted kitchens and one bay per apartment as standard. Final as per the SPA.

About the developer

Sobha Realty is the UAE arm of the Sobha group, founded by PNC Menon in Oman in 1976 and known to Indian buyers through Sobha Limited in Bengaluru. It has built in Dubai since 2003, with more than 30 completed projects and, on one independent review, no cancelled or escrow-defaulted project. At Sobha Hartland it handed over Creek Vistas in January 2022 and Creek Vistas Grande eight months early, and it has 6,819 homes worth about AED 21.6 billion scheduled for handover in 2026, more than everything it delivered before put together. Its Dubai projects are on the Sobha Dubai page.

Sobha builds through its own contracting and manufacturing arms, which is why its recent buildings have landed on or ahead of date. The record is not spotless: the same review found the original Hartland buildings six to fourteen months late. On Sheikh Zayed Road it has already completed The S Tower at Al Sufouh; Sobha Central is by far its largest site on the road, and 2026 is the year its delivery machine is tested at full scale.

For Indian buyers

The plot is freehold, so an Indian citizen owns the apartment outright with the title deed issued by the DLD in your own name. There is no annual property tax in the UAE; the recurring cost is the service charge. Our guide to buying Dubai property from India covers the paperwork.

Under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme each person can send USD 250,000 a financial year. The 1 BHK at AED 1.68 million is about USD 457,000 in total, but the 60/40 plan spreads it: the 20% booking is about USD 91,500, the construction instalments about USD 183,000 over three to four years, and the 40% handover payment about USD 183,000 in December 2029, which a couple can split. TCS applies above the threshold and is set off against your Indian tax.

A 2 BHK at AED 2.48 to 2.55 million clears the AED 2 million Golden Visa threshold on a single purchase; a 1 BHK does not on its own. JLT 1 BHKs rent at AED 65,000 to 110,000 a year, with the average near AED 90,000: about 5.4% gross on a AED 1.68 million unit before service charges, well under the 6.5 to 8% quoted for JLT towers bought years ago at lower prices. Rent from Dubai is taxable in India for a resident as income from house property with the standard 30% deduction, and a sale is a capital gain in India; the UAE charges neither.

Pros

• A developer with its own construction arm, 30-plus completed Dubai projects since 2003 and a recent run of early handovers
• Two minutes on foot from a Red Line metro station, with JLT's rental pool next door
• The cheapest tower on a site where The Pinnacle starts at AED 1.7 million and The Mirage at AED 1.95 million
• 60/40 plan with 20% down, so 40% of the price waits until handover
• A 2 BHK at AED 2.48 to 2.55 million clears the AED 2 million Golden Visa line on one purchase

Cons

• Three starting prices in print for the same 1 BHK, AED 1.52, 1.6 and 1.68 million; only the developer's current list settles it
• Close to AED 3,000 per sq ft on the smallest unit, for a Jebel Ali rather than a Downtown address
• Handover is December 2029 on the release and Q2 2030 on Bayut, with five more towers building around you after that
• No project number, escrow bank or construction percentage is printed by any source we checked
• 1,225 units in this tower and thousands more across the site means many identical 1 BHKs competing for tenants at once

Who this is for

• Buyers who want a metro-side Sobha apartment on Sheikh Zayed Road and can hold to 2030 and beyond
• Investors who want the JLT and Marina tenant pool at a new-build specification, and will underwrite at 5 to 5.5% gross
• Golden Visa buyers for whom a single 2 BHK purchase clears the line

Who should look elsewhere

• Anyone who needs a rent cheque or a title deed to mortgage before 2030
• Buyers who assume "Sheikh Zayed Road" means the Trade Centre or DIFC end; this is Jebel Ali, opposite JLT
• Anyone who will not get the instalment schedule and a service-charge estimate in writing before booking

Our verdict

The Horizon is a credible first tower from a builder we rate, on a metro station, with a plan that keeps 40% of the money back until the keys. The price is full rather than cheap: close to AED 3,000 per sq ft for a small 1 BHK in Jebel Ali is a Sobha and Sheikh Zayed Road premium, and the JLT yields everyone quotes belong to towers bought at half the rate. Buy it as a long hold, take Sobha's price list over a broker's, verify the project on the Dubai REST app before paying a dirham, and read the SPA for the instalment milestones and the service charge. What the same money buys elsewhere is on the projects page; our note on buying off-plan in Dubai is the checklist for the sales office.

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 at The Horizon, Sobha Central?

Property Finder prints AED 1.68 million (about Rs 4.33 crore) for a 1 BHK of 568 to 781 sq ft and AED 2.55 million for a 2 BHK of 936 to 1,554 sq ft. Metropolitan shows AED 1.52 million and dxboffplan AED 1.6 million for the 1 BHK, which look like earlier releases. The source listing prints no price; get the developer's current list before you compare.

What is the payment plan?

60/40: 20% on booking, 40% in milestone-linked instalments through construction and 40% on handover in December 2029, with nothing post-handover. The SPA settles the instalment dates. On a 1 BHK at AED 1.68 million the booking is AED 336,000, about Rs 86.5 lakh.

When is handover?

December 2029 on Sobha's launch release and on Property Finder; Bayut prints Q2 2030. Bookings opened on 1 August 2025 and site work is reported to have started, but no source gives a construction percentage yet. Check progress on the Dubai REST app.

Is Sobha Central registered with the DLD, and what is the project number?

It is sold off-plan in Dubai, so it must be registered with the DLD's the DLD and take payments into a project escrow account. None of the sources we checked prints the project number or names the escrow bank. Verify both on the Dubai REST app before paying a booking amount.

Does it qualify for the Golden Visa?

A 2 BHK at AED 2.48 to 2.55 million clears the AED 2 million threshold on one purchase. A 1 BHK at AED 1.68 million does not on its own, though two units bought together would. Off-plan purchases from approved developers are accepted.

What are the service charges?

Not published. JLT towers run AED 12 to 18 per sq ft a year, and a 76-floor tower on a shared podium with a park and a mall will sit at or above the top of that. On a 568 sq ft unit, AED 20 per sq ft is about AED 11,400 a year. Ask for the estimate in writing.

What rent and yield can I expect?

JLT 1 BHKs rent at AED 65,000 to 110,000 a year, with the average near AED 90,000. At AED 90,000 on the AED 1.68 million entry unit that is about 5.4% gross; take about 1.5 points off for service charges and management. The tower has no rental record until 2030, and 1,225 units handing over at once will press on rents in the first year.

Can an Indian citizen buy here, and how is the money sent?

Yes. The plot is freehold and the DLD issues the title deed in your name. Each person can send USD 250,000 a financial year under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme; the 1 BHK is about USD 457,000 in total, but the 60/40 plan splits it so the booking and each year's instalments fit inside one allowance, and a couple can share the handover payment of about USD 183,000. TCS applies above the threshold and is set off against Indian tax.

What has Sobha Realty delivered?

More than 30 completed Dubai projects since 2003, including Creek Vistas (January 2022) and Creek Vistas Grande (eight months early) at Sobha Hartland, and The S Tower on Sheikh Zayed Road. It has 6,819 units worth about AED 21.6 billion scheduled for handover in 2026. Its first Hartland phase ran six to fourteen months late; its recent buildings have landed early.

For the developer's current price list, the instalment schedule and a site-visit plan, talk to Realty Hunting.

Compare with other Dubai projects

Also in Sheikh Zayed Road: ONE B Tower (from AED 1.6 M, handover 2028). See every Jumeirah Lake Towers project with prices and handover dates.

More by Sobha: Sobha Creek Vistas (from AED 1,316,623, ready), Sobha City (from AED 1.31 M, handover 2029) and Sobha Solis (from AED 1.01 M, handover 2027).

A similar budget elsewhere in Dubai: Sunset Bay (from AED 1.69 M, handover 2026), W Residences (from AED 1.67 M, handover 2026) and Orise by Beyond (from AED 1.7 M, handover 2028).

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.