The Dubai-based developer Nakheel is looking to borrow AED 5 billion ($1.4bn) from banks to fund new projects, sources have told the news agency Reuters.

The state-owned company has asked banks to provide it with prospective pricing if it borrowed for an eight- to ten-year term, Reuters reported, quoting unnamed sources. The funds would be used for construction projects, the sources said.

Such a move would be the developer’s first attempt to raise sizeable debts since the turn of the decade when it almost collapsed during the real estate crisis.

Nakheel declined to comment on loan talks, but a spokesperson told Reuters the company already has sufficient capital to cover the repayment of a AED 4.4 billion ($1.1bn) sukuk maturing in August 2016.

Nakheel’s flagship project is the giant Palm Jumeirah manmade island in Dubai. It is also planning to develop 10 new hotels across the city.