Gulf developers plan Dubai-on-Thames

Construction firms who worked on Dubai’s Palm islands have joined a consortium of potential investors for a project to develop resorts on reclaimed land along the UK’s Thames Estuary, it was reported on Sunday.

The project, if approved by ministers, would be a major component of a 9 billion-British pound ($17.5 billion) redevelopment of the Thames Gateway, which runs from east London to the North Sea, reported The UK's Sunday Times.

Islands created from two three-mile stretches of land would include an opera house, theatres, housing and a marina which could become the first port of call for yachts travelling from Europe to London, the newspaper said.

The unnamed developers, who are understood to have worked with Dubai-owned real estate giant Nakheel, first approached the consortium a year ago, the newspaper said.

Nakheel itself had denied any involvement in the project, it added.

“They were really looking for something unusual and they were looking at trying to bring their experience of developing things like The Palm and other reclamation schemes," said Martin Nielsen, of engineering consultancy Scott Wilson. “It’s been Dubai leading the charge on that.”