Nakheel plans to resume work on at least four shopping malls next year as it shifts its focus to generating cash from retail ventures, says Ali Rashid Ahmed Lootah, the company's chairman.
The developer, owned by Dubai World, has scaled back ambitious plans announced in 2008 to build 100 shopping malls over 20 years and will instead concentrate on developing shopping facilities within its developed communities and expanding malls including Ibn Battuta and Dragon Mart.
"We have to enhance Nakheel financially and look for new cash. This is the best option, I think, to have fresh cash," Mr Lootah said at the opening of Homes R Us in the Ibn Battuta Mall yesterday. "We're looking at all the areas where we have existing communities and medium and short-term projects. All these areas will be fully serviced."
Among the projects set to restart are Palm Mall Village Centre, a 68,000 square metre shopping facility on Palm Jumeirah, which stalled at the end of 2008 as the financial crisis took hold.
Shops will also be built at The Circle and The Triangle, the retail and residential components of Jumeirah Village, while Dragon Mart and Ibn Battuta Mall will be extended.
"I wish I could do it today," Mr Lootah said. "Hopefully early next year we'll kick-start all these projects." Nakheel's restarted projects would be the few retail developments in the Dubai pipeline.
A wave of new retail space has opened in the emirate over the past five years, including Dubai Mall, one of the largest in the world, in late 2008, and Mirdif City Centre in March.
Total gross leaseable retail space grew from 10.5 sq feet per capita in 2006 to nearly 14 sq ft per head this year, according to Jones Lang LaSalle. There are no shopping centres scheduled until 2013, apart from Mall of Arabia, now under construction in Dubailand, which was scheduled for completion in 2013. But it may be delayed further since retailers remain cautious, said Jones Lang LaSalle. David Macadam, the regional director of retail for Jones Lang LaSalle in the MENA region, said that by the time the restarted Nakheel projects come online there would be sufficient consumer demand to sustain them.
Nakheel would also be likely to tweak its original plans to suit the new economic situation, he added.
"They will not build the same projects they originally envisioned," Mr Macadam said. "They will be modified in some way to really reflect the market reality."
Mr Lootah said funds to complete Nakheel's short-term projects, which include about eight residential developments, would come from the US$8 billion (Dh29.38bn) committed by the Dubai Government in March under a recaptalisation plan, along with payments from property buyers.
Nakheel said last week it had so far paid Dh3.4bn to contractors and other trade partners. Mr Lootah said the company was in preliminary talks with NASDAQ Dubai to list Islamic bonds, known as sukuk, on the exchange and that he was confident a debt restructuring agreement would be reached with its bank creditors "in the near future".
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Leaderboard
15 under: Paul Casey (ENG)
-14: Robert MacIntyre (SCO)
-13 Brandon Stone (SA)
-10 Laurie Canter (ENG) , Sergio Garcia (ESP)
-9 Kalle Samooja (FIN)
-8 Thomas Detry (BEL), Justin Harding (SA), Justin Rose (ENG)
The Ashes
Results
First Test, Brisbane: Australia won by 10 wickets
Second Test, Adelaide: Australia won by 120 runs
Third Test, Perth: Australia won by an innings and 41 runs
Fourth Test: Melbourne: Drawn
Fifth Test: Australia won by an innings and 123 runs
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder
Power: 70bhp
Torque: 66Nm
Transmission: four-speed manual
Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000
On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.