Nakheel awards Dh385m construction contract for beachfront resort in Dubai

The company is developing the Dh670m-project with its JV partner at Deira Island

Deira Island master plan. Courtesy Nakheel
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Nakheel, the builder of palm-shaped islands off the coast of Dubai, and Spain’s RIU Hotels & Resorts have awarded a construction contract for their Dh670 million joint venture beachfront resort and water park at Deira Islands in Dubai.

The joint venture has signed a Dh385m contract with Bin Ladin Contracting Group in Dubai, which was chosen from a shortlist of 10 construction firms. The 800-room project, among the biggest in Dubai in terms of hotel rooms, is set for delivery in 2019, according to a statement on Nakheel’s website.

The latest contract has pushed the value of total infrastructure and construction contracts to almost Dh8 billion at Deira Islands, with more on the way, Nakheel said without elaborating.

“Our first international joint venture will bring a new dimension to Dubai’s hospitality offering by providing a new concept in accommodation and attracting a new market segment to the emirate,” Nakheel chairman Ali Rashid Lootah said. He added that the project at Deira Islands will add to a diverse range of tourism-related projects that will help the government achieve its 2020 tourism target of attracting 20 million visitors to the emirate.

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Developers in Dubai, which is preparing to host the World Expo in 2020, are pushing ahead with hospitality projects to accommodate the influx of visitors in the emirate for the mega event. Nakheel’s joint venture development is one of 16 projects in Nakheel’s Dh5bn hospitality expansion programme, under which some 6,000 new rooms and hotel apartments will be delivered across Dubai in line with the government's tourism vision.

The JV is the first project for RIU in the region. The company has almost 100 hotels with around 45,000 rooms in 19 countries, and will deliver a new hospitality concept for Dubai, offering mid-scale, family-orientated, beachfront accommodation. The project is located close to the Deira Central, Nakheel's mixed-use community with the upcoming Deira Mall as its centrepiece.

“This is a great step forward in our long-term expansion strategy in the Middle East and South East Asia,” Joan Trian, RIU’s financial director said.

Deira Islands, which is expected to have a population of 250,000 and to create 80,000 jobs when completed, will add 40 kilometres of coastline to Dubai.