Construction of the luxury island Nurai in Abu Dhabi is being accelerated with the aim of completing the Dh3-billion ($816 million) project ahead of schedule, according to reports.

Dredging is 80 per cent complete and foundation work is set to start this month, a newspaper quoted Nadia Zaal, co-founder and chief executive of Zaya, the project’s developer, as saying.
The project is scheduled for completion in December 2010.
Nurai will have 50 water villas, 31 beachfront estates and a 60-suite hotel.
The three-bedroom water villas are all 5,540 sq ft, while the beachfront estates are divided into five-bedroom seaside villas and six-bedroom shoreline villas. The resort will also include three restaurants, a private helipads, marina and spa.