"We are planning a development that respects the nearby burial ground," Ronald Barrott, the firm's chief executive, told the magazine. "It will be residential and low rise."

Aldar is working with the Committee of Islamic Endowment (Awqaf) and the Urban Development Committee to rehabilitate and landscape the area, the magazine said.

It did not give further details. The company's Chairman Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh said on Thursday that the value of projects the firm is developing had reached $70 billion.

Abu Dhabi is reaping a windfall from six years of rising oil prices, which it is using to diversify its economy from oil by developing various projects.