Lebanon's Going Ahead With $8 Billion Cedar Islands Project, Despite Dubai Debt

cedar-island

We reported earlier in the year that a Beirut-based property developer has designs to build a Dubai “World”-like set of islands in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Lebanon. Modelled after Dubai’s The World and Palm Islands, developers in Lebanon report that its $8 billion development project will not sink.

This is all despite a $26 billion in debt hold from a similar project in Dubai, albeit by a different developer. The after-effects of the debt problem have rattled world markets.

The series of artificial islands are expected to resemble a cedar tree, the national symbol of Lebanon, despite environmentalists objections and a $26 debt in Dubai from similar projects.

“We are not worried at all,” Mohamad Alraai, a partner in the Noor International Holding (NIH) in Lebanon, told Maktoob Business on Thursday.

The developers in Dubai called Nakheel have had ambitious plans for the world’s tallest skyscraper (bigger than Burj Dubai) and a massive collection of artificial islands — about 300 in the shape of a world map.

Meanwhile Noor is waiting for government approval and plans to go full steam ahead building luxury homes, hotels and shopping centres. All off the coast of Beirut, not far from Greece, Crete, Turkey and Israel.

::Maktoob Business

Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloostermanhttp://www.greenprophet.com
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist, innovation strategist, and founder of Green Prophet, one of the Middle East’s pioneering sustainability platforms. She has ranked in the Top 10 of Verizon innovation competitions, participated in NASA-linked challenges, and spoken worldwide on climate, food security, and future resilience. With an IoT technology patent, features in Canada’s National Post, and leadership inside teams building next-generation agricultural and planetary systems — including Mars-farming concepts — Karin operates at the intersection of storytelling, science, and systems change. She doesn’t report on the future – she helps design it. Reach out directly to [email protected]
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