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Nakheel Begins Handing Over 
980 Homes at Marina Residences

More than 2,000 new residents are set to move on to Palm Jumeirah during the handover, Nakheel said. Palm Jumeirah is home now to more than 12,000 residents.

“Construction of the project is almost complete, and final touches will take maximum two months,” Marwan Al Qamzi, Group Managing Director for Nakheel Development Projects, told reporters during a site visit to the project.

The phased handover of 980 apartments will continue until early next year, said Nakheel, a unit of Dubai World. Marina Residences consists of six residential towers located along the trunk of the signature palm-shaped development. Its most luxurious penthouses are designed over four floors and offer more than 14,000 square feet of living space.

The original estimated cost of Marina Residences was Dh1.6 billion, Al Qamzi said. “But we are still negotiating with the contractor for the final cost of the project,” he added.

All 980 units have been sold, Al Qamzi said, though he did not disclose any of the sales prices. “Prices vary over different period of time,” he said.

Al Qamzi ruled out any big impact from the global economic crisis on prices at Palm Jumeirah, and he said that Palm Jumeirah was “maintaining” its value.

Dubai home prices have been spiraling downward since last November. However, real estate consultancy Colliers International said last week that residential prices rose by 7 per cent from the second quarter to the third quarter, thanks to an increased availability of mortgages and a perceived increase in job security among expatriate workers.

“Palm Jumeirah remains one of the most sought-after locations in Dubai …,” Al Qamzi said. “At Nakheel our focus is on delivering quality communities, and the handover of Marina Residences marks another major milestone on Palm Jumeirah.”

Nakheel’s Dubai portfolio includes Palm Jumeirah and two similar but bigger projects—Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira—as well as the man-made islands of the The World. Other of its properties are the Waterfront, Jumeirah Islands, Jumeirah Village, Jumeirah Park, Jumeirah Heights, The Gardens, Discovery Gardens, Al Furjan and International City.

Al Qamzi declined to provide an update on Palm Deira, which, at three times the size of Palm Jumeirah, is the largest man-made island in the world.

Nakheel, a leading player in Dubai’s property boom, ran into problems during the slowdown and has restructured in an effort to cut costs. It has a $3.52 billion bond payment coming due on December 14.

· abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com