The Palm Tower

Nakheel is the Dubai developer behind the Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali, Dubai Islands and The World, and the master communities of Jumeirah Islands and Jumeirah Village. Its website describes it as Dubai-based and as a member of Dubai Holding.

This guide is for buyers comparing Nakheel with other developers. It covers who the company is, where it builds, the projects on our site, how an off-plan purchase is regulated, what Nakheel has said about its latest launches and handovers, and what to check before you sign. Every project below links to its own page.

Who Nakheel is

The Nakheel website describes the company as a member of Dubai Holding and says its master developments cover about 15,000 hectares. It also says that 700,000 people live in Nakheel communities. Its own page gives two different figures for the coastline it has added, so we do not quote either.

Wikipedia gives 2003 as the year Nakheel was founded and describes it as a subsidiary of Dubai World that was merged into Dubai Holding on 16 March 2024. Wikipedia lists Dubai as the headquarters, and its page names two different chief executives, so we do not name one. The Nakheel site does not state its founding year, head office or leadership on the pages we could open. We have not found a source for any listing on a stock exchange and do not state one.

Search interest in Nakheel is large and mixed. People look for the company itself, for villas on the Palm, for new projects, and for owner services. This page answers the first three. Owner services are run through Nakheel's own channels.

Nakheel's collections

The Nakheel website groups its offering into collections: Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali, Dubai Islands, The World, District One and Meydan. It lists about two dozen projects, with several marked under construction and some marked as latest handovers, among them Canal Front Residences in Meydan and Lagoon Views in District One.

• Palm Jumeirah, the best-known Nakheel community. Our guide on Bluewaters or Palm Jumeirah compares it with a neighbour.
• Palm Jebel Ali, a newer Palm that Nakheel is building out in fronds. See our Palm Jebel Ali guide.
• Dubai Islands, which Wikipedia says was formerly Palm Deira and was restarted in August 2022. Read Dubai Islands or Palm Jumeirah.
• Mohammed Bin Rashid City, where District One sits. See the Meydan and MBR City area guide.
• Meydan, where the Nakheel site places Canal Front Residences and District 11 Opal Gardens.

Nakheel news: Palm Jebel Ali, August 2026

Khaleej Times reported on 20 August 2026 that Nakheel had released 44 beachfront villas on Frond F at Palm Jebel Ali. The villas are in two collections: the Beach Collection of five and six-bedroom homes of about 7,500 to 8,500 sq ft, and the Coral Collection of six and seven-bedroom homes of about 11,500 to 12,500 sq ft.

The report says a phased handover of the first villas begins in late 2026 and continues through 2027. It adds that Nakheel has awarded more than Dh13 billion in construction and infrastructure contracts so far. It says work is under way on 544 villas on Fronds A to F, and that 728 villas on Fronds K to P are at the internal and external finishing stage.

These are the developer's own statements about plans and progress. A completion date is a target. See handover delays and your rights if a date moves, and off-plan townhouses and villas in Dubai for what to check on a villa purchase.

Nakheel projects on our site

The table lists projects on our site where the area matches the one on the Nakheel website. Open a link for sizes, floor plans and the current payment plan from the developer.

Our site also carries Canal Front Residences 9, Bay Grove Residences, Phase 3, Bay Residences Dubai Islands, Como Residences, Garden Homes, The Palm Tower, Palm Beach Tower 1 and District One Residence 5. We leave them out of the table because we could not confirm their area from an official page, or because our site shows a different area from the developer. Ask the sales team for the exact address of any building before you compare prices.

How buying off-plan from Nakheel works

The steps are broadly the same for every Dubai developer, because the rules come from the Dubai Land Department (DLD) and its regulator RERA. The notes below summarise the DLD's published guidance for buyers. Your own contract and the sales team confirm the details for a specific building.

1. Choose a unit and pay the booking deposit. Ask in writing whether the deposit is refundable and on what conditions.
2. Sign the sale and purchase agreement (SPA). It sets the price, the payment schedule and the expected handover date. Read the clauses on delay, cancellation and transfer.
3. Registration on Oqood. Off-plan sales are recorded on the DLD's self-registration system, Oqood. Our guide to the title deed and Oqood explains what the record proves and what it does not.
4. Payments go to the escrow account. The DLD describes the real estate escrow account as a bank account of the project, where funds from off-plan buyers are held.
5. Marketing spend is capped. The DLD states that only 5% of total sales can be paid out of escrow for project marketing.
6. Retention after completion. The DLD says the escrow law requires 5% of the total amount paid into escrow to be retained for one year after completion, as a guarantee for defect repairs.
7. Snagging and handover. Inspect the unit before you accept it. See snagging and handover in Dubai.

According to the same DLD guidance, a project can be launched or announced only after the developer has completed registration and obtained the accreditation certificate. Ask to see that certificate and the project number on it before you pay a deposit. For a large master community, also ask which phase and which frond, island or district your unit belongs to.

Payment plans and costs

We could not open a payment plan published by Nakheel on its own site, so we do not quote a structure. Plans change from launch to launch and from collection to collection. Ask for the offer for your exact unit in writing, with every instalment date and percentage. See how off-plan payment plans work in Dubai for what each stage means.

Budget for costs outside the plan, including the registration fee in Dubai Land Department fees and annual charges in service charges and maintenance fees. On a villa or waterfront community, also ask about owners' association fees. See owners associations and service charges.

What to check before buying a Nakheel property

• RERA project number and escrow account. They should be on the SPA and match the DLD record. Our guide on how to check a developer lists the steps.
• The exact location. In a Palm, which frond; on Dubai Islands, which island; in District One, which phase.
• The handover clause. A date, a quarter or a range, and the grace period.
• The unit or plot. Number, size and floor plan. For plots, ask what the plot price includes. See BUA and suite area on a floor plan.
• Service charges. Ask for the rate in a comparable finished building. See how to check service charges.

Off-plan or a finished Nakheel home

Nakheel's older communities, such as Palm Jumeirah, have a deep resale market. In a finished home you can see the unit, the finish, the views and the service charge bills. The choice is limited to what owners are selling.

Off-plan gives you a full release to choose from and a payment schedule spread over construction. In return you wait for handover and accept that the finished result can differ slightly from the brochure. Compare the off-plan price with a finished unit of the same size in the same area. See whether off-plan suits you for the questions to ask first.

How Nakheel compares with other developers

The table is a neutral guide to focus and areas. It is not a ranking and says nothing about quality.

Where to go next

Start with the community: Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali or Dubai Islands. Our off-plan projects page lets you compare Nakheel with other releases in the same area, and our buying process explains each step. For launches and brochures, use the Nakheel website.