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Nakheel pricing islands on The World again

By Parag Deulgaonkar

Says project is back on investor radars
Nakheel , Dubai-based developer, has said it is currently working on finalising prices of for islands on its The World project, as investors interest is perking up once again.

"We confirm that we have had interest from purchasers and the properties are currently being priced," a Nakheel spokesperson told this website, without giving details of the new prices.

The islands, which are sold only by invitation, were earlier priced in the $20 million (Dh73.4m) to $50m range.

Nakheel , which has now become a wholly owned government entity, claims it has already sold 70 per cent of the 300 islands on The World.

The remaining 30 per cent are still owned by them. Currently, only two projects are underway on The World despite a host of developers announcing massive development plans in the past.

Last year, this website reported that some investors were selling the islands in the secondary market, offering discounts in the range of 10-17 per cent.

The island of Italy was on sale for Dh80 million, while another was offered for Dh42m.

Although Nakheel did not categorically state it had "repossessed" any island, it confirmed payment defaults were one of the breaches to the sales and purchase agreements.

A number of cases have been filed by Nakheel against developers in the Dubai World Tribunal for breach of contract, while the developer too faces cases for non-fulfillment on the contractual obligation, mostly relating to infrastructure.

"Remedies and consequences to this breach are determined in the agreements between the seller and the purchaser. We confirm that we have purchasers who have paid in full and others who are in default," the spokesperson added.

In January, Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah had told this website that Nakheel had not repossessed a single island in The World project.

"We sold the people a piece of land in the sea, well protected... we have no more commitment except that. They [investors] have to complete their payments," he had said.

Asked if developers were allowed to sell the islands in the secondary market, the spokesperson said: "There are provisions in the sales agreements that allow or disallow the resale of properties. They also prescribe the conditions for resale."

Nakheel has previously stated that flipping of the islands was not permissible.

The World project is nine kilometres wide and seven kilometres long. It covers an area of 931 hectares and will add 232km to Dubai's natural 67km of beachfront.

The islands range from 150,000 to 450,000 square feet in size. The project is divided into private estate island zones, commercial zones, which have low/mid/high density resorts, hubs for ferry transfer points and public visitor areas.

© Emirates 24|7 2011