Nakheel has broken ground on its Dragon Towers residential project, located in the mixed-use Dragon City community.

The $194m project features two 37 storey buildings comprising 571 one- and two-bedroom apartments.

The ground-breaking ceremony was led by Nakheel chairman Ali Rashid Lootah and comes a month after the developer awarded a $150m contract to Ali Mousa & Sons Contracting to build the project.

The project is said to be the first residential component at Dragon City and the only high-rise in the area.

The residential development will be connected by a covered bridge to the nearby Dragon Mart shopping mall, and will feature two floors of retail space, four parking levels and a sixth-floor podium level clubhouse.

Speaking about the project, Nakheel said that Dragon Towers is a key component of its ongoing retail, hospitality and residential expansion at Dragon City.

The development comprises Dragon Mart 1 and 2 and an ibis Styles hotel. A new showroom and car park complex and a Premier Inn hotel are also said to be in advanced stages of construction. Nakheel also said that further expansion is in the pipeline.