Dubai Holding has put its plans for the Jumeirah Central development on hold as it focuses its efforts on its other projects such as the recently launched Marsa al-Arab.

“Dubai Holding is prioritising projects that will be ready for Expo 2020 Dubai and those that will help draw tourists to the Emirate. As a result, we are currently focusing our resources on projects such as Marsa al-Arab. We are still committed to Jumeirah Central but the project is currently being revaluated to meet expected future market demand,” said a Dubai Holding spokesperson.

Dubai Holding added that the project is still being worked on internally, components are being revaluated, and that the market will be updated about it in due course.

The move to delay the delivery of the project has resulted in changes to the senior management of the project. “This decision has resulted in an organisational restructuring that will see Morgan Parker stepping down from his role by the end of this year,” said the Dubai Holding spokesperson.

It is the third time that a project planned for the Police Academy site have been shelved. The two earlier projects were the Mall of the World and Jumeirah Hills.

The Marsa al-Arab project was launched in May. It will be developed on two new artificial islands on either side of the Burj al-Arab hotel. It will cover an area of about 370,000 square metres and will add 2.2 kilometres of beach.

One island will be dedicated to entertainment and family tourism, while the other will be a resort. There will also be 300 sea-front residential apartments in the heart of the development, and a 20,000 square metre retail centre that will be built where the Wild Wadi Water Park is currently located. It will also include a private yacht marina and a yacht club, as well as other recreational attractions.