UAE master developer Nakheel has closed a deal with Thai hospitality group Centara Hotels and Resorts to build a AED 500mn ($163mn) hotel and waterpark at Deira Islands.
Under the agreement, first announced in October 2015, the two companies will deliver an upscale 550-room resort on a prime stretch of beach on the man-made island. The resort will cover an area of 295,900 sq ft is anticipated to have soft opening in 2019 and grand opening in 2020.
The deal was cemented in Bangkok by Nakheel Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah and Centara Chairman Suthikiati Chirathivat.
This is the second international joint venture Nakheel has signed for Deira Islands. The first, an 800-room, AED 900mn all-inclusive resort and waterpark with Spains RIU Hotels & Resorts, was confirmed in February last year.
Nakheel has already invested more than AED 3bn in infrastructure work, coastal works and design services for a range of new projects on Deira Islands, which will add 40km, including 21km of beach, to Dubais coastline.
The development is expected to have hundreds of new hotels, serviced apartments and mixed-use buildings, and extensive retail and leisure attractions.
Nakheel itself is building 16 residential towers, five hotels, two serviced apartment complexes, Deira Mall, Deira Islands Night Souk and several marinas at the islands.