Nakheel set to award Legacy Villas contracts

Dubai developer Nakheel said on Monday it will award construction contracts for nearly 400 Legacy Villas at Jumeirah Park in early 2013.

The developer, which said it has sold more than AED1.2bn worth of Legacy Villas, is currently assessing tenders for the luxury four- and five-bedroom homes.

Contracts are set to be awarded by mid-January with construction due to begin in February.

The villas are slated for completion in the fourth quarer of 2014, Nakheel said in a statement.

Legacy Villas are the latest addition to Nakheel's Jumeirah Park community, which spans 350 hectares and, when complete, will have 2,000 homes. So far, 545 villas have been completed.

Nakheel said on Sunday it had now fully leased all 10,600 sq m of available space at Jumeirah Park Community Centre, with nearly 30 retailers and restaurants confirmed for the new shopping centre.

Geant supermarket will account for almost a quarter (2,400 sq m) of the community mall, which will primarily serve thousands of residents at Nakheel's Jumeirah Islands, Jumeirah Village and Jumeirah Park developments.

Jumeirah Park Community Centre - currently under construction and due for completion in Q3 2013 - will also have 10 cafes/restaurants and a host of every day convenience stores including a pharmacy, health food store, optician, dry cleaners, beauty salons and money exchange facilities.

Dubai's indebted property developer Nakheel said in October that net profit for the first nine months of the year nearly doubled, helped by property handovers and growing business in its retail and leasing segment.

Net profit for the nine months ended September 30 was AED1.1bn ($299.5m), up from AED600m in the year-ago period.

Revenue for the nine months rose to AED4.5bn from AED2bn in the prior-year period.

Nakheel, builder of man-made islands in the shape of palms and a map of the world, said about 4,000 units had been delivered to customers since the start of its restructuring in August 2011.