Developer Damac has paid AED 1.26 billion ($343 million) for plots of land close to the Dubai Water Canal, it said in a bourse statement.

The plots are located on the eastern and western sides of Sheikh Zayed Road, at the Safa Park intersection, and will add about 4 million square feet to the company’s land bank.

The purchases were made through the developer’s subsidiary Damac Properties Development Co LLC, the company said in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market, where it is listed.

The financial commitment was “structured on five yearly deferred payments with the last payment scheduled in March 2020”, Damac said.

“These acquisitions are in line with the company’s long term strategy of maintaining a five years land bank and replenishing it with land in prime Dubai locations to ensure a sustainable pipeline of future developments,” it added. “Further announcements on these development plots will be made in due course.”

The Dubai Water Canal, an extension of the Creek that links the Business Bay area with the Arabian Gulf, is on track to complete by the end of this year, according to the local Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).