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Dubai: Nakheel, developer of Dubai's iconic Palm island trilogy, yesterday said, it has changed the design for the trunk of The Palm Jumeirah master plan, dropping the two kilometre canal.
"In order to achieve a better balance between waterfront leisure and recreational facilities and also provide valuable community space for residents, a landscaped park will now become the focal point at the centre of the trunk," a statement said.
"The 7.8 hectare park will include a wide range of facilities including a large water element with pools and fountains being key features. The park will also be an experiential feature, creating attractive, useable space. Residents will not only have beautiful park side views, but also the opportunity to enjoy the space physically."
Chris O'Donnell, Nakheel chief executive, said: "In evolving The Palm Jumeirah into one of the world's premier resorts for living, tourism and leisure we are constantly looking at ways to add to the amenity of life on the island. The new park will be an experiential feature, creating beautifully landscaped areas and a lively space for residents to engage, play and relax whether that's a leisurely stroll through the park or a picnic with the family."
The Palm Jumeirah is the first and the smallest among the three iconic islands that expands Dubai's coastline by several hundred kilometres and will host as many as 40 resort hotels including a larger version of the Atlantis - the theme park on the Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Nakheel has also sold and developed hundreds of villas that are yet to be handed over to buyers, much behind the schedule, although the infrastructure is not yet ready for to-be residents to commute.
Contract for a monorail has already been awarded to Japan's Marubeni Corporation and construction of the utility projects are in advance stage.
The 5.4 kilometre long transport system will run between the Gateway Station at the trunk of The Palm Jumeirah and the Atlantis Station on the crescent, calling at two intermediate stations on the way at Trump International Hotel and Tower, and the Village Centre.
The monorail will initially carry up to 2,400 passengers per hour per direction in four separate trains, each made up of three cars. At full capacity, the figure will rise to a maximum of 6,000 people in nine vehicles.
Construction work, which began in March, is scheduled for completion in December 2008. Bore piling and foundation works have been completed with the 28 metre, 80-tonne concrete truck beams currently being laid at the site.
Hitachi started actual production of the monorail from January and the building work will be completed by December 2007. System installation and testing will be carried out by Hitachi from January 2008 to the scheduled completion date of December 2008.
Marubeni is also working with a civil and building work partner to develop the Monorail - a joint venture between the Ohbayashi and Oriental Construction.
Revision to the design master plan could be due to the changes in the trunk's latest developments. The trunk will host Trump International Hotel & Tower, a project jointly being developed by Donald Trump and Nakheel.
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