Plans for nine new beaches off the Deira coast in Dubai have moved a step closer after the developer Nakheel said it was seeking construction tenders for the first phase of the mega project.
Nakheel is seeking contractors to carry out coastal improvements at 21 kilometres of beaches including new breakwaters and quay walls and some land reclamation on its Deira Islands project. A part of the project was originally envisaged to be the largest of Nakheel’s three vast man-made palm-shaped islands.
Nakheel scaled back plans to build Palm Deira after the global financial crisis and relaunched the project last October as Deira Islands, comprising four linked islands which will include resorts, apartments and shops as well as 40km of coastline.
Bids for the design and build contracts are due by August 14, Nakheel said.
The Palm developer started selling 94 plots of land for hotels and hotel resorts on the islands in March. The company declined to say how many it had managed to sell to date, but added that it had had a "healthy response" to the launch.
“Nakheel’s 15.3 square kilometre waterfront city of Deira Islands will add another 40km – including 21km of beach – to Dubai’s coastline,” a Nakheel spokesman said. “Deira Islands is set to bring a new tourism, leisure and recreation hub to Dubai by providing the infrastructure for coastal hotel and resort development, which in turn will contribute to Dubai’s 2020 tourism vision.”
Property analysts say that by starting work on the beaches on the islands, Nakheel will be likely to attract more hotel developers to buy plots.
“Apart from the Palm Jumeirah, JBR and Jumeirah, Dubai doesn’t actually have many beaches. Beachfront in Dubai is always in demand. These are the hot spots in Dubai,” said Filippo Sona, the head of hotels at Colliers International’s Dubai office. “The key question for Nakheel is how quickly can it get them built and how they will be phased.”
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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