Nakheel, a Dubai World company, has awarded Dredging International – Boskalis Westminster Middle East joint venture a major contract for the redevelopment of Port Rashid.

The contract, worth Dh2.2 billion will include a sizeable amount of land reclamation including the construction of a breakwater and shore protection.

A total of approximately 86 million cu m of sand will be dredged reclaiming 540 hectares of new land.  Work will start immediately and will be completed within a period of two and a half years.

The redevelopment will build on the culture and heritage of the original port and will be a tribute to the memory of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the father of modern-day Dubai.

The developer has also revealed that the first stage of land sales at Mina Rashid has been completed.  Over 20 plots have been sold to local, regional and international developers and will be handed over at the end of this year. Nakheel recently invited a number of developers to look at its redevelopment plans for Port Rashid and available plots were sold out in a matter of weeks.

Abdulrahman Kalantar, managing director of design and planning, Nakheel said: “We were thrilled to be able to announce the redevelopment of Port Rashid in January as a project which would be dedicated to the memory of Sheikh Rashid and would be sensitive to the culture and heritage of the district. Now named Mina Rashid, we are pleased with progress on all fronts from the conclusion of first land sales to the award of a major contract for the land reclamation work.

“Mina Rashid will be very carefully planned. As one of Dubai’s best addresses, it will host a very wide range of community facilities including schools, mosques, museums, parks, hospital and medical centre. It will also become home to a new luxury cruise terminal which will be a major contributor to growing Dubai’s tourism offering. And all of this will be achieved by respecting the past and looking towards the needs of Dubai’s future generations ensuring that the legacy lives on.”

The Mina Rashid development will be approximately 760 hectares in size and around 600 hectares will be reclaimed. The project will provide a balance of residential, office and commercial development within an urban waterfront environment.  It will have 17.5 km of waterfront promenade and the projected population will be 225,000 people. Mina Rashid will have a host of public transport options including an internal mass transit and water taxi system that will provide links to the Dubai Metro, Dubai Maritime City and Palm Deira. -TradeArabia News Service