Palm Jebel Ali villas: 544 homes under contract, The Yard retail hub and Select Group's arrival

For years Palm Jebel Ali was Dubai's best-known stalled project: reclaimed in the 2000s, then left untouched until Nakheel relaunched it in 2023. Over the past eighteen months Palm Jebel Ali has moved from renders to signed contracts, a first retail centre and its first private developer. Three developments explain what the island is likely to look like by the end of the decade.

544 villas, AED 3.5bn of contracts

On 27 April 2026 Nakheel, part of Dubai Holding, awarded contracts worth more than AED 3.5 billion to build 544 villas. Ginco General Contracting takes 354 villas on Fronds A to D; United Engineering Construction (UNEC) takes 190 villas on Fronds E and F. Work was due to start in the second quarter, with completion targeted for Q4 2028. The villas belong to a range of ten architectural types designed to give every home a waterfront and a sea view.

For a buyer, this is the signal that matters. On a relaunched project, a signed contract with a main contractor and a named completion date separate a real build from a brochure. We set out the questions to ask on relaunched projects in our Palm Jebel Ali explainer.

The Yard: a neighbourhood centre before the neighbours

In September 2026 Dubai Retail unveiled The Yard, the island's first retail and lifestyle destination at around 70,000 sq ft. It is a neighbourhood centre rather than a mall: 26 concepts, with confirmed tenants including Waitrose, American Hospital, Jumeirah International Nursery and Bateel Café. It is due to open in 2027, ahead of the first residents, and is sized for around 20,000 people on the island and nearby.

That timing is the point. New islands rarely fail on views; they fail on daily life — nowhere to buy groceries, see a doctor or drop off a child. A centre that opens before handovers removes a tenant's main objection to moving in. The master plan also includes a Friday mosque designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

Select Group, the first private developer

In July 2025 Dubai Holding sold a plot on the island to Select Group, which will build residential and hospitality projects with Emirates Strategic Investments Company. It was the first time the island opened to a developer outside the government group. Buyers will therefore see competing products on one island: Nakheel villas and projects such as Palm Central Private Residences, alongside branded and hotel-led formats from private developers. Our Select Group profile explains how that developer usually structures its sales.

What it means for investors

• Dates are firmer. First handovers are expected from 2027, the bulk of the villas in 2028.
• Low density by design. The island is larger than Palm Jumeirah but plans an order of magnitude fewer homes, which keeps it a villa market.
• Early years on a building site. Even with The Yard open, the island will be under construction until the end of the decade — factor that into rental expectations.

Waterfront prices across Dubai's islands are compared in our waterfront villa comparison, where Palm Jebel Ali starts at around AED 21m.

Frond-by-frond timings and current listings are on the Palm Jebel Ali area page.