Aiming for the skies

Some ambitious projects in Dubai worthy of global attention.

The Palm

Palm Jumeirah has an 11-km breakwater surrounding it. The property will have 40 hotels and 3,000 villas and apartments. The project is due to be completed by late 2006. The structure of Palm Jebel Ali is now in place while Palm Deira is just becoming visible as it rises out of the sea. The estimated value of the total construction is $5 billion (about Dh18.36 billion).

The World

This project will feature 200 islands laid out as a replica of the globe and is situated five kilometres off the coast of Dubai. The development will be 5.5km in both length and width, covering 60 million square feet and is expected to be complete in 2008. Islands will be sold to individuals who can then create their own environments on their islands or to hotel chains wanting to establish exclusive resorts.

The Waterfront project

The latest ambitious land reclamation project ($50 billion or about Dh183.65 billion) will create an 81-million square metre waterfront with 10 zones incorporating Palm Jebel Ali and 250 planned communities, both on and offshore. It will have 600km of roads and 370km of canals and waterways making it nine times larger than the canal network in Venice.

Dubai Marina

This is a $10-billion (about Dh36.73 billion) project that will be completed over a 20-year period. The first phase involved the construction of a 3.5km canal and marina area connected to the sea. The second phase of the development is the construction of the prestigious residential towers incorporating more than 1,200 apartments and waterfront villas with more than 60 shops and commercial buildings.

Dubai Festival City

This is a 1,200-acre development on the Dubai Creek near Al Garhoud Bridge. It will be built in phases with completion due in 2015. It includes a four- kilometre waterfront promenade hosting a mix of entertainment, dining shopping, sport and leisure facilities, hotels and marinas, as well as residential and office buildings. Construction is now well advanced on this project.

The Burj Dubai tower

This $1-billion (about Dh3.673 billion) project is expected to be the world's tallest tower and will form the central part of the region's most prestigious urban development. It will contain residential and commercial spaces and a world-class hotel. Although the final height of the tower remains a closely guarded secret, it will exceed 452 metres, the height of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia. Construction is now well under way.

Dubailand

A $5-billion (about Dh18.365 billion) tourism, leisure and entertainment project, Dubailand, will span two billion square feet. The theme park will consist of 45 separate projects from a space exploration exhibition to a full-size dinosaur enclosure. This is part of the infrastructure required to increase tourism from the current level of six million per annum to 15 million per annum by 2010. This vast development will be divided into six zones - the Attractions and Experience World, the themed Leisure and Vacation World, the Retail and Entertainment World, the Eco Tourism World, the Sports and Outdoor World (to host rugby, cricket and American football events) and the Downtown Business and Administrative District.

International City

Located in the Al Warsan area of Dubai, about 12km from Dubai Airport, this $2.5-billion (about Dh9.18 billion) project is due for completion in 2007 and will host a population of 65,000. It is being constructed in 11 distinct districts, reflecting the architectural styles of China (hosting Dragon Mart - the largest trading complex for Chinese goods opened in 2004), UK, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Iran, Russia, Morocco, Thailand and Indonesia.

The Exhibition Centre

The Dubai International Exhibition Centre completed a $210-million (about Dh771.33 million) enhancement in 2003. This included a new conference centre with the capacity for 6,000 delegates, additional exhibition facilities, offices, a shopping arcade and two hotels.

The complex was the venue for the governors annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund in September 2003. However, even this new complex has proved to be too small to cope with the increased demand for the ever-larger exhibitions in the region.

In May 2005, a $2.2-billion (about Dh8.08 billion) project was announced to construct Dubai Exhibition City at Jebel Ali. This will have 19 halls with 500,000 square metres of exhibition space (10 times larger than the current facility). The first phase is due for completion in 2009.

Free zones

Dubai has developed a number of free zones, the most notable being Jebel Ali, Internet City and Media City. These zones have encouraged many international companies to establish their Middle East offices in Dubai and have given rise to the construction of large business districts on the outskirts of the city.

Dubai Metro

One of the consequences of the rapid development of Dubai has been the ever-increasing traffic on the roads. This has led to the announcement of a $3.9-billion (about Dh14.32 billion) project to construct two railway lines of 70km with 55 stations, 18km of tunnels and 51km of viaducts. One hundred trains are expected to run on the system.

Dubai Healthcare City

This project, announced in late 2002, is worth $1.8 billion (about Dh6.61 billion) and will transform Dubai into a global hub for specialised healthcare, research and medical education by 2010, catering to the Middle East's $74-billion (about Dh271.8 billion) healthcare market (which is currently expanding at 16 per cent per annum).

Abu Dhabi's Al Raha Beach Hotel is a 99-room, 11-suite, 24-villa complex. This is the first part of a $15-billion (about Dh55.09 billion) development in the Al Raha district. This was followed by the opening of the luxurious Emirates Palace Hotel with 390 rooms. The latest large projects are the Abu Shuoom Island development - Emirates Pearl ($9.5 billion or Dh 34.89 billion) and The Reem Island project ($5.5 billion or Dh20.2 billion).

Sharjah has announced the $4.9-billion (about Dh17.99 billion) Nujoom Island resort and the $800-million (about Dh2.94 billion) Stars Island project. The latter will comprise 10 islands surrounded by lakes fed by the waters of the Arabian Gulf, all connected by bridges. Located on the islands will be 10 apartment blocks, 2,500 villas, hotels and retail units.

Fujairah will also spend $800-million (about Dh2.94 billion) to develop its tourism sector in the next five years and this will include the Al Dana project (350 villas and 11 hotels). The $327-million (about Dh1.2 billion) Al Ameera Village is planned for Ajman, and Umm Al Quwain will construct the $8.1-billion (about Dh29.75 billion) Al Salam City on the Emirates Road, to promote tourism and house more than half a million residents.

New airports

The increasing tourism and commercial activity in the Middle East is leading to a boom in the aviation sector. The Arab Air Carriers Organisation (AACO) reported the largest growth in the world last year. AACO members carried 24 per cent more passengers in 2004 than they did in 2003. To deal with this increased activity, the region is investing to develop new airports and upgrade existing facilities. The leading regional hub is Dubai, which is well on its way to achieving its medium-term objective of 30 million passengers by 2010, half of whom will be tourists. With the construction of terminal 3, Dubai International Airport will increase its total capacity to 60 million passengers per year by 2008.

It was believed that Dubai International Airport will not have the capacity to allow long-term development of the aviation sector and so the decision was taken in 2005 to commence work on the first phase of the Jebel Ali Airport ($600 million or about Dh2.2 billion) which will include two components, Dubai Logistics City and the runways for the Jebel Ali Airport.

These are now under construction, covering 140 sq km and due for completion in 2007. The passenger terminals will follow and are due for completion in 2015. The project will develop to include not only a state-of-the-art airport but also several cities around it that will cater to the financial, industrial and service sectors.

The new Abu Dhabi International Airport will be completed in two phases and will then have capacity for 50 million passengers annually.

Malls

Recent examples of spectacular new malls in the Gulf include the massive Ibn Battuta Mall and The Mall of the Emirates which has over 2.4 million square feet and 350 shops as well as an indoor ski centre. These are part of the 70 new GCC malls and expansion projects due for completion by 2008.

There are two billion potential consumers in this region, and the GDP is expanding at a rate in excess of five per cent. More than 50 per cent of the population in this region is under the age of 20 and a large proportion will become consumers in the medium to long term, which is why construction of malls forms an important part of the industry.

The Dubai Mall, which will be constructed close to the Burj Dubai tower, is expected to be one of the largest malls in the world, larger than the West Edmonton Mall in Canada and the Mall of America in Minneapolis, US.