Dubai’s Nakheel awards contracts worth Dhs430m for Deira Islands

The contracts are for a sewage treatment plant, a district cooling plant, a substation and piling work for the 800-room RIU resort

Dubai developer Nakheel has awarded four contracts – collectively worth more than Dhs430m – for its mega Deira Islands development, it announced on Wednesday.

The contracts cover islands A and B of the four-island development, a statement said.

A Dhs228.3m contract was awarded to VWS Emirates/ Butec SAL (Dubai Branch) under a joint venture for the design, construction and 10 years’ operation and maintenance of a sewage treatment plant.

Meanwhile a contract worth nearly Dhs100m was awarded to Emirates District Cooling (Emicool) to build a district cooling plant for the Night Souk and nearby Nakheel buildings, with 10 years’ operation and maintenance.

Nakheel also awarded a Dhs90.5m for a 132/11kV substation to AG Power, covering the south island (Island A). Deira Islands will have eight substations in total, with three currently under construction.

The fourth contract worth Dhs14.5m was won by Delta Foundations (Dubai branch) for the piling works for the 800-room RIU beach front resort at Deira Islands.

The resort is being developed as a joint venture project by Nakheel along with Spain’s RIU Hotels and Resorts. A construction tender for the Dhs670m resort was issued in May, and the contract is due to be awarded by the end of this year, the statement said.

Nakheel said it has invested nearly Dhs7.5bn in infrastructure and construction contracts for Deira Islands so far.

“More are due soon,” its statement said.

A 15.3 square kilometre waterfront city, Deira Islands will add 40km, including 21km of beach, to Dubai’s coastline and feature hotels, residences and attractions.

In April, Nakheel awarded a construction contract worth Dhs4.2bn for its mega Dhs6.1bn Deira Mall. The mall – set to be Dubai’s biggest shopping destination in terms of retail space, is expected to be completed in 2020.

Deira Mall will be the centrepiece of Deira Boulevard, a new Dhs5bn development with 16 residential towers, nearly 3,000 apartments and retail, restaurant and recreation space.

Together, Deira Mall and the Boulevard will have 4.5 million sq ft of shop space.

Meanwhile Deira Islands Night Souk, with more than 5,300 waterside shops and restaurants, is under construction and due to open in 2018.

In terms of hotels, Nakheel has signed a joint venture partnership with Thailand’s Centara Hotels and Resorts for another beachfront resort at Deira Islands.

In May, the developer also signed a letter of intent with Hilton for a new DoubleTree by Hilton hotel and serviced apartment complex at Deira Islands. The proposed project will be a twin tower complex with 250 hotel rooms and 200 serviced apartments. It is currently being designed, with anticipated delivery by 2020.

Overall, the waterfront city is expected to have a population of 250,000 when ready and create 80,000 jobs, according to Nakheel.