The QE2 refurb is still on hold

www.nakheel.com

The fate of Britain’s most famous cruise ship the QE2 looked all set for a rosy future when it docked into a Dubai harbour last year. It was going to be the second seven star hotel on offer in the Arab state.

The huge funnel that had travelled tens of thousands of miles was to be replaced with a swanky new glass penthouse. The whole interior redesigned to capture the natural beauty it has to offer. Instead of a massive team of workmen altering the ship, there is small group of maintenance men keeping the woodwork and fabric from decaying.

The price for the QE2 was around the £50 million mark and is just one of a few projects new owners Nakheel have put on hold due to the world recession. The kilometre tall building plans have been put on hold altogether.

The Nakheel group says that design work is still going on and work will commence on the physical side when the cruise ship leaves its current location of Port Rashid for the dry docks in the near future. “We are using this time to thoroughly investigate the ship and ensure that any refurbishment work is done to the highest standard and in a manner that is in keeping with the considerable QE2 heritage,” said a spokesperson for Nakheel.

Nakheel are known to of received some funds in a $10 billion bail out by Dubai authorities. Also property prices have fallen some 40 per cent since their peak back in September 2008.

Thanks to www.telegraph.co.uk for the above quotes, for more information on this story please visit their website.

www.nakheel.com