Nakheel to build on Palm Deira islands

08 October 2013
Dubai developer also reports 58 per cent rise in the first nine months of 2013

Nakheel has announced plans to build on four of the reclaimed islands that were originally developed as part of the abandoned Palm Deira project in Dubai. The announcement followed news that the company, which was forced to restructure billions of dollars of debt in 2010, had increased profits by almost 60 per cent in the first nine months of 2013.

The company also unveiled at Cityscape two developments for Palm Jumeirah, where it is building a pier and boardwalk on the crescent, and a beach club and park. All the projects are in the design phase.

The Deira project will make use of four islands that were dredged as part of the Palm Deira man-made island. Nakheel said the islands will be mixed-use and add an additional 40km of beach to Dubai's coastline.

Nakheel will develop the South island and create the masterplan and build the infrastructure for the other three, which will then be handed over to third-party developers. The South island will be connected to the mainland via road bridges and include a 1,400-unit Arabic night souk, a 250-room hotel, an amphitheater capable of holding 30,000 people and a marina.

This project will contribute significantly to the Government of Dubai’s tourism strategy. Nakheel intends to offer special payment plans and incentives for hotels to develop on these new islands,” said Nakheel chairman Ali Rashid Lootah.

Dredging contracts for the Palm Deira were awarded in 2004, and MEED broke the worldwide exclusive in October 2008 that work had stopped, due to the market downturn.

Nakheel has also announced a 58 per cent rise in profit in the first nine months of the year, compared with the same period of last year. The company said profit in the first nine months of the year was AED1.77bn ($481.9m), and revenue in the third quarter was AED6.83bn.

Nakheel was one of the government entities at the heart of Dubai’s property boom, and eventual bust in 2009. Along with Dubai World, another state-owned company, the two firms restructured $25bn of debt in 2010-11.

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