DUBAI, 15 Nov, 05 (WAM) - Real estate developer Nakheel andVan Oord, a Dutch dredging and marine contractor, yesterday signeda contract for the development of Deira beach, a project involvingan investment of a Dh16 billion.
The beach development will be part of the mega project The Palm,Deira - the third man-made island off Dubai coast, accordingto reports in the UAE's dailies.
General Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Princeand the UAE Defence Minister, and Jan Peter Balkenende, PrimeMinister of the Netherlands, attended the signing ceremony.
The contract with the Dutch company involves the execution of16 digging and filling operations for the project to develop17km of beach. The first phase of the project's infrastructuredevelopment is to begin by the end of 2006, according to SultanAhmed bin Sulayem, executive chairman of Nakheel.
Gen. Shaikh Mohammed and Balkenende discussed measures to furtherboost cooperation between the UAE and the Netherlands. The meetingwas attended by Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, presidentof Dubai Civil Aviation and chairman of Emirates airline, MohammedAlabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties, and Mohammed Al Gergawi,Chairman of Dubai Holding Company.
The new Palm, Deira, is to be 18km long, 9km wide and its surfacewill measure 4,000 hectares. Development of the beach projectwill involve shifting more than one billion cubic metres of sandand 70 million tonnes of rock.
Van Oord has been operating in Dubai since 2001 and helped buildPalm Jumeirah, south of Dubai, a Palm shaped island that wasthe first of the ambitious coastal projects.
About 50 million cubic metres of sand has been used to reclaimland for The Palm, Deira.
