Dubai restructures Nakheel board

The Dubai government has restructured the board of Nakheel, the troubled realty arm of debt-ridden company Dubai World, naming Ali Rashed Ahmed Lootah as new chairman.

Lootah replaced Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, who is also the chairman of Dubai World. Sulayem was the chairman of Nakheel since it was launched in 2001.

The announcement comes days after the unveiling of a $9.5 billion rescue plan for Nakheel and its parent company. Nakheel is considered one of the biggest real estate developers in the world which portfolio includes a number of mega projects, most notably, the Palm Islands.

Other members of the board include Khalid Mohamed Salem Bakheet, Khalil Issa Ahmed Awad, Adel Khalifa Al-Shair, and Ibrahim Hussein Al-Fardan. Nakheels chief executive officer, Chris O'Donnell, said he will remain in his job.

The board will immediately start working on enhancing Nakheels abilities to implement the proposed restructuring plan unveiled last Friday, the company said in a statement.

The Board will also ensure Nakheel's ability to reach a quick and balanced recovery, to return to activity, and to regain its position and role as an important component of the national economic system, it said.