No island repossessed: Nakheel

Nakheel has not repossessed a single island in The World project, company chairman has revealed.

“We sold the people a piece of land in the sea, well protected… we have no more commitment except that. They [investors] have to complete their payments,” Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah told Emirates 24|7.

The company has already sold 70 per cent of the 300 islands, while remaining are still with Nakheel. It is not known how many investors have failed to meet their financial obligations and have defaulted.

Lootah admitted there was a timeframe for developers to start their projects. Only two projects are currently underway on The World.

A number of developers did announce massive development plans in the past, but till date have not commenced their projects. Nakheel has even offered certain investors in The World project to move over to projects such as the Palm Jumeirah or Jumeirah Village.

Although Nakheel does not allow flipping of the islands, Lootah said the sale contracts define whether the islands can be resold or not.

Last year, Emirates 24/7 reported that some investors were selling the islands in the secondary market. The 460,000 square feet Island of Italy was on sale for Dh80 million, while a 20,000 square metre island was offered for Dh42m.

The master developer also ruled out plans to lower prices of the remaining islands, with Lootah asserting that prices had already shot up.

The World islands were sold by invitation only. The islands are priced in the range of $20 million (Dh73.4m) to $50m.

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