Major construction work will begin again on Dubai’s The World archipelago in the second quarter of next year, it has been reported.
Twenty islands will be part of the initial phase of work, the master-developer told Emirates Business on Sunday.
According to the paper, original property designs have changed to reflect current market conditions, and many buyers are currently waiting approval from the regulatory body before work can commence.
“We are working with a core group of purchasers who are revising their designs to account for the changes in the economy,” said Nakheel’s Marwan Al Qamzi, group managing director, projects, told the paper in an interview.
Safi Qurashi, who bought Great Britain for $60m in May 2008, told Arabian Business in September that work on his island would begin again soon. He is set to reveal the exact details shortly.
His plans to develop The World’s Moscow island, which he bought for $58m in March last year, are on hold, he said last month.
Meanwhile, Mark Scott, CEO of Select Property, told the paper his company would begin construction on Aquitainia island – a fusion of France and Spain – by the second quarter of 2010.
Nakheel, Dubai’s state-controlled property company, attracted some negative publicity recently with news that construction of its 300 man-made islands project had been halted.
“These developers are moving forward with revising their plans and entitling their projects. Scopes have been updated to match their development strategies and construction commencement is anticipated for Q2 2010. Most construction schedules run for two to three years,” Al Qamzi told the paper.
