21 January 2008
Dubai: Nakheel, a real estate arm of Dubai World, said it will launch Port Rashid property sales next month as part of the area's redevelopment that will see all cargo operations shifted to Jebel Ali.
The plan involves land reclamation for residential buildings, office towers and retail facilities. More than 200,000 people are expected to live in the planned urban community.
It will involve huge land reclamation between the port and the Palm Deira Island. "We are estimating the total site area to be 73 million square feet. The existing area is 25 per cent of that," Nakheel's managing director for design and development Abdul Rahman Kalantar told Gulf News.
Nakheel said it is "committed to preserving and expanding this site of historic importance with a new urban waterfront that will create real estate, generate jobs, attract tourism and help drive economic growth."
Container terminal
Port operator DP World is expected to move all its cargo business, including container terminal activities, to its flagship port in Jebel Ali by August this year. "They have already started decommissioning some of their operations," Kalantar said.
DP World said earlier this month that it is closing general and non-containerised cargo handling operations. The port complex also houses the offices of Dubai Customs and a cruise terminal. Nakheel said both these facilities will continue to be in the area but cruise terminal will be expanded to cater to the growing number of tourists.
"There is going to be a bigger terminal. We are coordinating the expansion with the tourism department," Kalantar said.
He said the master plan will be ready by the end of this month and sales of the planned properties will be launched in February.
"The theme of the project will be heritage," Kalantar said, adding that this is in view of the historic role Port Rashid played in Dubai's growth. The project is in the shape of an oryx.
Nakheel's developments spread across more than two billion square feet of land and the company puts the value of its projects at $60 billion. Upon completion, Nakheel's waterfront projects will add 1,000 kilometres of shoreline to Dubai's coastline. Its portfolio includes The Palm Jumeirah, The Palm Jebel Ali, The Palm Deira, The World, Waterfront, Jumeirah Islands, Jumeirah Village, Jumeirah Park, Jumeirah Heights, The Gardens, Discovery Gardens, Ibn Battuta Mall, Al Furjan, International City, Dragon Mart Complex, Dubai Promenade and Dubai Design Centre.
Nakheel chairman Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem said in a statement the Port Rashid redevelopment plan will "pay homage to the maritime history that helped shape the success of the emirate."
"We will ensure that the importance of the site and the people who have worked and lived there since its creation are preserved for future generations," Bin Sulayem said.
By Shakir Husain
Gulf News 2008. All rights reserved.
