Dubai, August 21st, 2007 (WAM) - Nakheel, the region's premierdeveloper and a key force behind its most iconic developments,including world-famous man-made island The Palm Jumeirah, isredeveloping Jebel Ali Village as part of Dubai's strategic planfor the future.

The redevelopment of Jebel Ali Village has been planned to addressa strong need for quality housing for a broad spectrum of thecommunity with convenient access to existing and proposed facilitiesin the immediate area such as Ibn Battuta Mall and the proposedDubai Metro stations.

Jebel Ali Village will offer a range of medium density housingoptions with supporting commercial and community retail servicesand all the amenities necessary for community living, includingschool, convenience retail, community club and recreation areas.

A number of the existing facilities will remain as part of theredeveloped masterplan such as the Mosque and popular Jebel AliRecreational Club, which will remain open during its expansionand refurbishment. The central park will also be extended toprovide 12 hectares of useable space and a wide range of facilitieswithin a landscaped environment. The redevelopment will takein the area of Jebel Ali Primary School and Nakheel initiateddiscussions with the school's Board of Governors several monthsago regarding the development of a new school to service thearea. It is Nakheel's intention to arrange for the establishmentof the new school before the old school is closed with all studentsreceiving priority right of entry.

Construction work will begin on the existing Jebel Ali Villagein late 2008 with the entire project expected to take five yearsto complete. Preliminary earthworks are scheduled to begin onthe vacant area of land that surrounds the development in thecoming months, however, residential and community facilitieswill remain unaffected as a result of these works.

Mohammed Rashed, Director, Jebel Ali Village, said: "The areaon which Jebel Ali Village now stands marked the hill where SheikhRashid, Father of Dubai, once stood and proclaimed his visionfor the Jebel Ali Port in the early 1970s. This area has playeda significant role in the history and growth of Dubai and Nakheelis proud to be redeveloping this important area as part of Dubai'svision for the future.

"Dubai is growing rapidly as a global residential, tourist andbusiness destination and this means we must always consider thecreation of more accessible developments to make better use existingand planned infrastructure and amenities for our growing population.

Jebel Ali Village will be redeveloped and revitalized to takeadvantage of this enhanced infrastructure and provide a rangeof much needed accommodation in close proximity to Sheikh ZayedRoad, Jebel Ali Port and Free Zone, and the proposed Dubai WorldCentral airport.

"It is also our intention to maintain the strong community feelthat has been vital to the development's success by retainingthe Jebel Ali Village name and many of the facilities such asthe recreational club, park and mosque, which have served thecommunity so well over the years."To ensure that tenants have sufficient time to make arrangementsfor relocation, current tenancy agreements have been extendedat the current passing rent to provide a notification periodof one year.

Mohammed Rashed added: "Nakheel will do all it can to assisttenants in finding alternative accommodation. We have given afull year's notice and will also be offering tenants the opportunityto purchase or rent in the redeveloped Jebel Ali Village. Forthose interested, priority reservation will also be given inthe immediate area at Nakheel's Discovery Gardens and GardenView Villas developments, and further a-field at InternationalCity."