By Kara Gammell www.telegraph.co.uk
The revelations came as Dubai laid out plans for a bond issue, in part designed to restore its finances in the wake of the crisis.
The bond documents showed that the country’s real estate watchdog cancelled the registered real estate projects over the past two years after the bursting of the property bubble.
The Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) determined that the properties were unlikely to be completed after a review of 450 projects.
The Gulf Arab emirate, known for extravagant projects such as the artificial islands Palm Jumeirah and Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, is planning a benchmark sovereign dollar bond issue this week.
Dubai’s total value of real estate transactions dropped to 119.4 billion dirhams (£20bn) last year compared with 152.9 billion dirhams in 2009.
The property sector has been hit hard by the downturn, with projects worth billions of dollars put on hold or cancelled, while property prices slumped as much as 60pc.
Land sales fell by 14.9pc in the last year, according to data from Dubai’s Department of Land and Properties.
The prospectus said only 129 projects have been completed since the beginning of 2009.
High-profile projects in the emirate that have been put on hold or cancelled in the last two years as a result of the downturn include Tiger Woods’ residential and golf course project, Dubai Properties, and developer Nakheel’s kilometre-high tower.
