Nakheel is set to build a 10-storey block of flats and nine restaurants on Palm Jumeirah, the Dubai-based developer said yesterday.
The announcement comes three weeks after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, gave the go-ahead for Nakheel to start work on its Dh3.3 billion (US$898.4 million) Nakheel Mall and The Pointe projects on The Palm.
The developer said it was also pressing ahead with the new block of 170 apartments on the man-made island.
Nakheel said the Azure Residences scheme, on the eastern shoreline at the base of The Palm’s trunk, would also include nine restaurants, including the signature Breakwater restaurant, with 360-degree water and city views.
It said the project was designed with individual air-conditioning systems that residents pay for directly as part of their utility bills.
The developer said it planned to start construction of the 140 one-bedroom and 30 two-bedroom Azure Residences flats this summer, and aimed to complete the scheme within two years.
The project will include a swimming pool, gym, 266 car-parking spaces and mooring facilities for water taxis.
Prices start at Dh2.3m for the one-bed option and from Dh4.2m for the two-bed.
Nakheel, the developer of Dubai mega projects including The World, rocked global finances in 2009 with its involvement in the Dubai World financial crisis, which led to the company restructuring its debts and receiving financial assistance from the Dubai Government.
Last month, the company announced profits of Dh2.02bn last year – a 57 per cent increase on the previous year on revenues of Dh7.8bn.
At the time the company said its total debt stood at Dh12.2bn, including Dh8bn in bank debt and Dh4.2bn in sukuk.
The company expects that it can reduce its debts by increasing off-plan sales.
This month it sold off plan all the 33 studio apartments it plans to build at its nearby Club Vista Mare scheme, which will also be located on the Palm Jumeirah.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
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