Dubai developer Nakheel’s CEO, Sanjay Manchanda says he hopes “something” will be put in place on Palm Jebel Ali by the start of Expo 2020. The firm says projects that stalled after the financial downturn are still in the pipeline and could be revived.

Speaking at MEED’s Destination Dubai 2020 conference held in Dubai on 28 January, Manchanda said the developer was reviewing its projects and “where we feel there is a lot of demand and traction coming through”, those schemes would be picked up again.

On Palm Jebel Ali, Manchanda said “as and when the demand is there, that project will also be on the market”. He told delegates that “hopefully something” will have been built on the man-made island by the time Dubai hosts the World Expo 2020.

Pointing to the recent announcement of plans for the six-island cluster called the Heart of Europe on The World development, he said Nakheel’s planning office was now “inundated” with planning applications for other World islands.

Asked about the Waterfront development, he said the situation was similar to that of the World islands, where planning applications to Nakheel would be considered. There is “not much work on the Waterfront at the moment”, he said. However, he added that developers were showing interest in pushing ahead with schemes at the development.

Manchanda also outlined Nakheel’s four major projects on Palm Jumeirah. The 418,000-square-metre, AED2.5bn ($680m) Nakheel Mall, which was tendered late last year, is expected to open in 2016. The Pointe, on the tip of the Palm and opposite the Atlantis, will be 136,000 sq m in size. It was tendered in September last year. The Boardwalk will cover 11 kilometres of crescent on the Palm. It will have two piers at each end, both of which will stretch 100 metres into the sea. Finally, Palm West Beach will be a 1.5km park that includes 14 restaurants.