Dubai: Nakheel, the developer of the three iconic palm islands and the World, is expanding Dubai's coastline with the launch of a massive real estate development, the Universe - which will spread from the Palm Jumeirah to Palm Deira.

The Universe will be a cluster of large coral- shaped islands, which will see the development of major residential, commercial and tourism projects. The Universe will have 3,000 hectares of land and will take 15 to 20 years to develop.

"The biggest risk is not taking a risk at all," Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem, executive chairman of Nakheel, told a gathering of VIPs on Saturday.

He said his company has overcome a lot of challenges in developing the Palm trilogy and the World.

Nakheel's expertise will be tested in the new development, he said.

He also announced on Saturday that 50 per cent of the World project has already been sold out. Nakheel will progressively announce the phased development of the Universe in the coming months.

Development: project to replace port

Nakheel announced a new real estate project that will replace Dubai's Port Rashid.

The project spread over 700 hectares of land is expected to take up to 10 years to complete. On completion it will accommodate more than 300,000 people.

In order to maintain sustainable marine development , Nakheel has announced an investment of 100 million per year for the next 5 years to develop marine communities.