Troubled Dubai property developer Nakheel said on Friday it was restarting construction work at two luxury housing projects in the country, one of the United Arab Emirates.

Nakheel is the flagship property arm of the Dubai World conglomerate, whose debt restructuring has been at the heart of Dubai's economic troubles.    

The emirate's once-booming property market was hit hard by the financial crash as property prices fell around 60 percent and billions of dollars worth of projects were put on hold or cancelled.    

A statement said Nakheel had recommenced work on a section including 523 villas and terraced homes at Al Furjan with construction firm Arabtec, to be delivered in the first quarter of 2012.

It also said work had restarted on 525 four-bedroom villas in Jumeirah Park with Pauling Middle East, for delivery in the second quarter of 2012, and 289 three-bedroom villages with Al Huda Contracting, for delivery at the end of next year.

The two separate statements gave no more details.

Nakheel said in September it expected to start building again on all short-term projects at Al Furjan by the end of October.    

It said earlier this year it would restart six projects in Dubai including Jumeirah Park, Al Furjan, Al Badra, Jumeirah Village and parts of Jumeirah Island and Jumeirah Heights, as well as man-made islands in the shape of palm trees which had become a signature for Dubai's global profile.-Reuters