Developer Nakheel, Dubai World's property arm that is restructuring $10.9 billion in debt, said it has stopped selling new properties and is focusing on consolidation.

'Nakheel is currently focusing on consolidating and swapping its projects, this will continue for the foreseeable future,' the company said in an email statement.
 
A spokeswoman later told Reuters that the company has currently stopped new sales.

The developer has offered home buyers property swaps for projects closer to completion or a five-year wait for refunds.

It restarted work on short-term projects towards the end of last year and said it was revisiting all other projects, including man-made islands The Palm Jebel Ali and The Palm Deira.

Nakheel has been in negotiations with both trade creditors and banks to repay its debt obligations and said last month that it expected the restructuring process to be completed by the first half of 2011.

The developer, which overstretched itself building islands in the shape of palms and other ambitious projects, is part of state-owned Dubai World which recently completed a $25 billion restructuring with banks.-Reuters