The Nakheel chairman, Ali Rashid Lootah, said the Palm Jebel Ali project will be built – but not in the short term.
In an interview with Al Ittihad, Mr Lootah said that dropping the project was out of the question and the company was committed to completing all of its announced projects on a schedule that responds to market needs.
He said that as part of a restructuring of the company’s financial and commercial debt, the board has decided to categorise the company’s projects as those to be implemented in the short term, such as Al Furjan, Jumeirah Park, Jumeirah Village, Jumeirah Heights, Jumeirah Island and Badra, and those to be implemented in the long term such as Jebel Ali Palm.
Since the restructuring, he said Nakheel has been reviewing projects prior to their launch to ensure compatibility with demand in the property market. He said the company has launched 12 development projects in Dubai following the financial and commercial debt restructuring process in August 2011.
Mr Lootah said that all of the company’s property projects in the past two years achieved record sales as the company’s financial and operational performance contributed to regaining investors’ confidence.
