Nakheel is set to announce a series of design changes on the Palm Deira, its third offshore island development in Dubai.
The property developer launched an international public tender seeking consultants for the project’s redesign in June last year.
The consultancy contract was later awarded to Malaysian architect firm Teo A Khing Design Consultants (TAK), and a final version of the new design was submitted in December.
The redesign mainly focussed on the island’s infrastructure and land plots configuration.
The size of the development will stay the same, although the original masterplan has undergone major changes in terms of its transport and water networks, and open spaces. A detailed hydraulic study formed part of the consultancy contract.
“Water networks will not be an issue for Palm Deira,” said Teo Ah Khing, managing director, TAK. “There have been a few major improvements in terms of the hydraulic study, along with traffic and transportation and how the development will be linked to Deira itself.”
Nakheel is expected to formally announce the design changes at the Arabian Travel Market exhibition, which is taking place in Dubai in May.
“The top management of Palm Deira is preparing to launch the project,” said Mohsen Saad Obaid, a senior project manager for the Palm Deira at Nakheel.
The Palm Deira was launched in 2004 at an estimated cost of US $3 billion (AED11 billion). Early last year, rumours circulated that the project had been put on hold following protests by Sharjah that the development – set to be the largest in the Palm trilogy, which includes the Palm Jumeirah and Palm Jebel Ali – protruded into the neighbouring emirate’s territorial waters.
Nakheel has, however, persistently denied that the project has been delayed and insisted that reclamation works, which are being carried out by Dutch dredging contractor Van Oord, are on schedule.
The project has been treated by the technique of vibro-compaction, an advanced technology used to ensure the full thickness of reclamation fill and to eliminate any loose layers of compactable soil beneath the original seabed, just ahead of bored piling for the initial building structures planned for the development.
The Palm Deira will be made up of 8,000 villas, along with shopping malls, sports facilities, public services and leisure and recreational facilities. It will be 18km long, 9km wide and its surface will measure 4,000ha.
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