NAKHEEL

[Imre]

25/January/2009

Nakheel Harbour Tower

bad news, removig the Nakheel site office has begun

good news, SB is there and still working

[smussuw]

bye bye Nakheel

[BinDubai]

its actually good news

[Imre]

Originally Posted by BinDubai

its actually good news

why good?

Aldar site office coming soon or what a hell?

[peacesells]

Originally Posted by Imre

why good?

Aldar site office coming soon or what a hell?

Heard that they stopped work on Marina Residence for a few hours the other day so that Aldar due dilligence people can come in and assess the progress.

[dubayyy]

Aldar are planning to takeover Nakheeel?

[flares]

What's happening with Aldar/Laing O'Rourke JV? Heard things weren't too rosy...

[Imre]

Originally Posted by Soup_Nazi

Nakheel restructures senior management team
Published 26 2009 1211 GMT
Author Colin Foreman
More this Author
Last Updated 26 2009 13:33
Dubai-based developer Nakheel has restructured its senior management team. The reorganisation
sees a number of senior executives leaving their positions, as business units are consolidated and
projects scaled back.
The changes were announced internally on 25 January, with an email to all staff sent by Chris O'Donnell,
chief executive officer of Nakheel.
A Nakheel spokesman confirms, "In keeping with our business objective of matching supply and demand
in the most effective way, we have announced the merging of a number of Nakheel business units, which
will better address the changing market conditions.
"This action will not affect ongoing work on our projects and has not led to redundancies."
• Marwan al-Qamzi will now be the managing director (MD) of Palm Jebel Ali and Dubai
Waterfront. These two projects previously had their own MDs, with AI-Qamzi running Palm Jebel
Ali and Matt Joyce heading the Dubai Waterfront project.
• Adnan al-Naql is now the MD for Nakheel Northern Coastal Projects, which includes the
company's offshore projects in northern Dubai. They are the Palm Deira, Mina Rashid and The
World.
• Abdulrahman Kalantar will manage the newly merged Nakheel Asset Management and
Design group, also incorporating the masterplanning role for The Universe, with Nick Green
leaving as head of Nakheel Asset Management.
• Hamza Mustafa will head Nakheel Leisure. He was previously managing The World project.
• Nakheel Hotels will be part of Nakheel Leisure and its MD, Joe Sita, will report to Mustafa.
• Johan Schumacher will become MD for Palm Jumeirah and Investment Projects. combining
Palm Jumeirah, Tall Tower. Investment Projects and the Marine Division.
• Saeed Harib will continue in his role as Director of Nakheel Marine Group, now reporting to Johan
Schumacher.
• Graham Dreverman remains MD for Nakheel Retail.
• Robert Lee, former head of Nakheellnvestments, now leads RetailCorp. which will be part of
Nakheel Retail.

Both the Palm Jebel Ali and Dubai Waterfront had been scaled back in recent months.

At Palm Jebel Ali, work on the frond villas, as well as infrastructure for crescents A and E, will continue as
planned. while other phases will be delayed. (Wrong, the infrastructure projects have been scaled back significantly, also note no mention of waterhomes)
At the Waterfront, work on Madinat aI-Arab, Venetto, Badra and Canal District is carrying on as planned
while other phases will be delayed.(Wrong again, on someof the projects here the work has completly stopped and the contractors have been demobilized)
Nakheel stopped working on parts of Palm Deira last year as it concentrated on areas closer to the shore.

Hamza Mustafa will head Nakheel Leisure. He was previously managing The World project.

Adnan al-Naql is now the MD for Nakheel Northern Coastal Projects, which includes the
company's offshore projects in northern Dubai. They are the Palm Deira, Mina Rashid and The World.

The World ON HOLD as well?

[Imre]

NAKHEEL’S COMMUNITIES COMING TOGETHER

- Thousands of new homes on track for delivery over next 24 months -
- Al Furjan, Jumeirah Village, Jumeirah Islands and Jumeirah Park focus on family living, quality and sustainability -

Dubai, 2 February 2009: Nakheel, Dubai’s master developer, today released details of progress at its communities at the heart of ‘New Dubai’ – Al Furjan, Jumeirah Village, Jumeirah Islands and Jumeirah Park. In this year alone, thousands of families will move into new homes across the developments.

At Jumeirah Village, the handover of villas and town houses is underway, with the delivery of 2,200 homes phased for release throughout the year. Twenty-four ultra-luxury villas at Jumeirah Island Mansions are set for handover this spring, adding to this already vibrant community that has become one of the most sought-after residential locations in Dubai.

Jumeirah Park is also on track, with homeowners set to take up occupancy later this year. Ninety per cent of infrastructure works are complete across the development, with villa construction 30 per cent finalised. At family-focused Al Furjan, 14 show villas are open for viewing, with handover of the first properties on schedule for late 2010.

Nakheel’s Chief Executive, Chris O’Donnell said:
“At Nakheel, we have made a firm commitment to Dubai, and to our homebuyers. While we are committed to fulfilling the long-term and sustainable approach to support the growth and development of this Emirate, we are equally focused on delivering new homes and communities here and now.

“Nakheel developments will become home for half of Dubai’s population over the next 20 years. Is it an enormous vision on an unprecedented scale; but it’s a vision that we are delivering, and our New Dubai communities are fundamental to that.”


In New Dubai - as in all of its developments - Nakheel is committed to delivering quality, creative communities, and sustainable lifestyles.

At Al Furjan, planning and architectural principles create a convenient, accessible, family-focused development that fosters a strong sense of community. Innovative design details are incorporated into every aspect of the development - from neighbourhood planning to the creative use of open spaces. The open interiors of Al Furjan homes cater to Arabic, Asian and Western tastes.

Jumeirah Village will be a thriving balanced community at the very centre of Dubai with an estimated population of approximately 300,000 by 2013. Spread across 811 hectares, it is designed with families in mind, with pedestrian-friendly walkways to gardens, and streets surrounded by trees with carefully planned recreational facilities.

The combination of Jumeirah Islands’ excellent location, luxury villas and innovative landscaping have made it one of Dubai’s most attractive communities and with the ongoing addition of new facilities and amenities for residents.

Jumeirah Park is a family orientated community ideally located close to Palm Jumeirah, Ibn Battuta Mall, Media and Internet Cities and a selection of 5-star hotels along Jumeirah Beach Road. The development will feature extensive landscaped areas, lush parks and eco-friendly green spaces promoting an outdoor lifestyle.

[rexdmx]

got past jumeirah park using the road from discovery gardens...constructions is well underway...imre can you sneak some shots with your spy camera if you dont mind

[gerald.d]

No Shamu for you, Dubai. Busch is out.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busin...4034388.column

Busch Entertainment Corp., owner of SeaWorld and other theme parks, has shelved plans to build four parks in Dubai, making the project the Middle Eastern state's latest casualty amid the international credit freeze.

Worlds of Discovery was announced just a year ago with a media spectacle that included performing killer whales and renderings of the parks on a man-made island shaped like SeaWorld's signature Shamu. Busch Entertainment President Jim Atchison touted it as a "momentous occasion" and a chance to put the Busch brands on a "true global stage."

The setback is one in a string of recent stall-outs for Dubai, often held up as Orlando's chief rival for tourism and as an emerging health-care hub with a development set to outpace Orlando's attempt to establish its own "medical city."

Busch and partner Nakheel PJSC, a state-backed real-estate company and leading developer in Dubai, agreed last month to suspend work because of worsening financial conditions. The two companies will reassess the project sometime this summer.
"As successful as they [Nakheel] are, there's certainly a limit to how far they can extend themselves," said Busch spokesman Fred Jacobs. "It's just a difficult time to start a new project."

The emirate's troubles are being blamed on a combination of downward-spiraling oil prices and real-estate values along with the related credit crisis.

Busch recently reassigned the handful of executives who were working on the Dubai parks and moved them back to its headquarters on John Young Parkway from a nearby satellite office.

The first two parks -- SeaWorld and Aquatica -- were scheduled to open in December 2012. Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove were to follow in 2015.

The parks were to sit on a 440-acre island, part of a cluster of man-made islands by Nakheel. Plans for the other islands connected to the parks called for as many as 56 hotels, shopping and housing for as many as 280,000 people.

Jacobs emphasized that Busch and Nakheel remained committed to the project and would move forward "when economic conditions permit."

Busch's end of the deal involved licensing its brand as well as planning and managing the parks. InBev's 2008 takeover of Anheuser-Busch, the theme-park group's parent company, did not affect the decision, he said.

"We don't have any idea what the future holds," Jacobs told me, and he indicated a scaled-back version of Worlds of Discovery was not under consideration.

The announcement comes as a number of projects planned for Dubai appear to be halted, though a Universal Parks & Resorts spokesman said Universal's Dubailand park is still a go and scheduled to open in 2012, two years later than the opening targeted when the park was announced in 2007.

In addition to the delayed opening of Dubai's second airport and other deferred ventures, Moody's Investors Service said this week that it may cut its credit rating for some of Dubai's top state-backed companies.

That all adds up to bad timing for the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission, taking a group of nine local business people led by Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty on a seven-day trip to Dubai on Thursday.

The price tag for the trip is $79,195, a mix of private and taxpayer dollars, and the goal is to promote Orlando as a business destination as well as introduce local businesses to potential opportunities in Dubai.

On the agenda, in fact, is "Nakheel Day." The group, which includes Florida Hospital Chief Executive Lars Houmann, Florida's Blood Centers Chief Executive Anne Chinoda and Crotty chief of staff George Rodon, among others, is to hear a presentation at Nakheel's sales center and take a boat trip to Palm Jumeirah.

It's possible that during the excursion to the palm-tree-shaped cluster of islands, the group will catch a view of Palm Jebel Ali, the island that was to be carved into a killer whale for the Busch parks.

For now, it remains an artificial swath of desert jetting into the Persian Gulf.

[Wannaberich]

Cancelling residential projects is irrelevant but this is a disaster.

[bizzybonita]

REPOST

[Naz UK]

Of the once seemingly endless list of "theme parks" in Dubailand, I wonder how many are now history. Still, Dubailand was tipped as the "world's largest theme park" for about the last 4 years, and you can't put a dollar amount on that now can you. Well, erm, you can actually, the DTCM has the figure somewhere.

[dbxdude]

more job cuts here..... tis sad

[Imre]

Nakheel Announces Completion of Djibouti Palace Kempinski Second Phase

Djibouti, February 8, 2009: Nakheel Hotels has completed the second phase extension of its stunning Djibouti Palace Kempinski. The expansion of the hotel has now increased its initial 177 guest room inventory to a total of 254 rooms and 55 furnished apartments.

The Djibouti Palace Kempinski opened in November 2006 and was the first five-star hotel to open in Djibouti and the first hotel operated by Kempinski in East Africa. The initial phase of the hotel was built in a record nine months on 49,000 m2 of reclaimed land in a Red Sea inlet. The hotel was a major development achievement as 97% percent of the construction materials and hotel furnishings had to be imported. This enormous logistics effort was made possible by the Port of Djibouti operated by DP World, another Dubai World company. The opening of the second phase of the hotel coincides with the inauguration of the opening of Terminal 2 of the Port of Djibouti.

Joe Sita, CEO of Nakheel Hotels said:
“We are delighted with the successful expansion of the Djibouti Palace Kempinski, Djibouti’s first five-star hotel. Nakheel Hotels has always followed a strategy of investing in key gateway cities around the world, alongside up-and-coming destinations which offer huge growth potential. The expansion of both our hotel and DP World’s Port of Djibouti reflects growth in business travel and investment in East Africa.”

Strategically located at the Horn of Africa, the hotel boasts state-of-the-art banquet and conference facilities and has hosted high profile conferences and events, including the COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) Summit attended by leading politicians and Heads of State from around the world.

The second phase of the hotel integrates the traditional Swahili and Arabic architectural style of the initial phase and includes six levels of deluxe hotel rooms and suites, retail outlets, lounges and restaurants, a modern gym, as well as luxury hotel apartments. Construction of both phases of the hotel was carried out by renowned Japanese builder Taisei.



Entrance of Djibouti Palace Kempinski



HE Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum- Chairman of Dubai Events Management & Organisation, and HE Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem- Chairman of Dubai World

(Nakheel)

[Imre]

Outgoing managing director arrested


Dubai: Matt Joyce, the former managing director of Dubai Waterfront, has been arrested as part of an investigation into corruption allegations, Gulf News has learnt.

An Australian, Joyce, recently made redundant from Nakheel, was supposed to be leaving the company in April, according to a company circular.

Dubai public prosecution records show Joyce is one of three to be detained for questioning in relation to allegations of bribery, according to the Financial Times.

While other Nakheel projects such as Nakheel Harbour and Tower, Palm Deira, Worlds of Discovery just off Palm Jebel Ali and the Trump Hotel and Tower are all on hold, Dubai Waterfront is apparently still going ahead, Nakheel said in an earlier statement.

The merging of the two project teams of Palm Jebel Ali and Waterfront has triggered a wave of senior redundancies.

Dubai Waterfront, destined to be twice the size of Hong Kong island, has suffered setbacks this year, with a total of five directors laid off, including Joyce, the source said.

Nakheel was not available for comment when contacted by Gulf News.

A wave of corruption allegations has swept through Dubai over the last year as an increasing number of investigations into financial irregularities got under way.

Nakheel, which boasts an $80 billion (Dh293.6 billion) portfolio, found itself in the middle of a storm last year over rumours the "second in command", a UAE national, had been arrested for pocketing money. Last year the company laid off 500 staff members.

http://www.gulfnews.com/business/General/10284855.html

[Naz UK]

What's the difference between an ordinary Emirati citizen and the royal family?

One of them gets thrown into jail when they decide to discreetly pocket money from the UAE's wealth pot.

[Imre]

Press release


QE1 Gift is just Nakheel’s Cup of Tea

- Bone china set and steamer blanket from Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth given to QE2 owners for its heritage museum -

Dubai, 22 February 2009: Nakheel Hotels - the owners of the world’s best loved ocean liner QE2 – last week received the generous gift of a royal cup and saucer and steamer blanket from QE2’s predecessor, Cunard’s RMS Queen Elizabeth.

The gifts, which will form part of the heritage collection at the QE2 museum on Palm Jumeirah, were given to Nakheel Hotels’ CEO Joe Sita at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York last week by US technology entrepreneur and CEO of EntreLearn, Inc., John Patrick Moldt, and his sister Karen Moldt, a sales and marketing executive. The Moldts’ father, Edward M. Moldt, was one of a group of Philadelphia businessmen who purchased the Queen Elizabeth from Cunard in 1968 before reselling the vessel to a Hong Kong investor in 1970.

The cup and saucer are part of the set of “Royalty” or “VIP” china which was made exclusively for the suites on board both Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. The pattern was used for a relatively short time after both ships were launched. The originals were made by Plant of Staffordshire in Tuscan bone china – known for its hardwearing properties, which made it ideally suited to a life at sea. The black wool steamer blanket, which bears the insignia ‘Cunard Line D658’ in gold lettering, would have been used by guests on board as a wrap in inclement weather.

Joe Sita, CEO of Nakheel Hotels said:
“The gift is a touching gesture from the Moldt family and I am honoured to be able to receive it on behalf of Nakheel Hotels. The cup and saucer and steamer blanket - which date from the golden age of the ocean liner – are exactly the type of artefacts that allow people to connect with those travellers of by-gone days, and will add a valuable human dimension for visitors to the QE2 heritage museum.”


John (Patrick) Moldt added:
“We wanted to find a suitable home for the cup and saucer set and steamer blanket from Queen Elizabeth. They deserve to be seen and appreciated by a wider audience, and a place in the QE2 Museum on Palm Jumeirah will allow them to be admired by thousands of people for many years to come.”

Built in the 1930’s, RMS Queen Elizabeth was the largest passenger liner ever built — a record that was not exceeded for fifty-six years. She first entered service as a troopship in the Second World War, before taking up her intended role as an ocean liner for the Cunard Line (then the Cunard White Star Line) until her retirement in 1968. Together with Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth maintained a two-ship weekly transatlantic service from Southampton to Cherbourg to New York for over twenty years.

QE2 arrived in Dubai on 26 November last year at the end of her ultimate voyage, and is now undergoing refurbishment (including the restoration of key historical areas) that will see her become the focal point of an extensive, multi-faceted luxury precinct off the trunk of Palm Jumeirah where cultural and entertainment experiences will combine to re-create an authentic luxury ocean liner ambience and lifestyle. A heritage museum displaying artefacts from QE2 and of local maritime history is a key feature of the precinct.


QE2 receives a royal cup & saucer and steamer blanket


Joe Sita, CEO Nakheel hotels receives gifts from Karen Moldt and John Patrick Moldt

[ardi]

Where is Chris O'Donnell ? I hope he is ok