Lebanese developer Noor International has put forward proposals to Syrian authorities for a $10bn man-made island project off the Syrian coast.

The proposed Arab Stars Islands project would consist of two man-made islands shaped like two stars representing the Syrian national flag. The development would cover an area of about 907,000 square metres.

The island would include residential and commercial complexes, hotels and recreational facilities such as shops.

The scheme is expected to take four years to complete once the required licences had been granted, says Mohammed Saleh, chairman, Noor International.

Noor International is currently awaiting government approval for a similar $8.2bn project in Lebanon. The tree-shaped Cedar island scheme is planned for a site southwest of Beirut. According to Noor, the development in Lebanon will also take four years to complete and will provide accommodation for 40,000 people.

Noor prequalified up to eight international dredging contractors to work on the first phase of the project’s construction in February 2009. The developer later delayed work for parliamentary elections in June last year (MEED 23:2:10).