Construction on Madinat Jumeirah is in full swing

Jumeirah International's latest world-class luxurious resort development, nestled on the beachfront near the Burj Al Arab, is well under construction.

Running to schedule, the project - set on about 110 acres - should be finished by November 2004.

The development - to include two hotels, clusters of villas, a souk, health spa, and conference facilities - will have a traditional Dubai style.

The architecture and the ambience of the hotel is a return "back to basics", explained Serge Zaalof, general manager, Madinat Jumeirah.

Discussions about the project started in 1998 and, at that stage of planning, Dubai's tourism industry was taken into consideration.

"Madinat Jumeirah came about when we were looking down the line for Dubai. It was felt that we wanted to promote the rich heritage and culture of the region. So we have reflected this with the architecture and design."

Gardens and waterways - featuring abras to transport guests - will be one of the development's major features.

For now, large concrete blocks surrounded by sand is about all that can be seen.

But by next August, the first phase - which includes the Mina A' Salam hotel - should be complete.

Construction of the Mina A' Salam, a 300 - bedroom hotel, started in February. "The interior will be decorated in blue, gold and cream. And the hotel will be near a huge lagoon that will be connected to a creek.

"On this 3km creek, that will go all around the resort, there will be about 40 abras to take the guests around."

The minimum room size in the Mina A' Salam will be 50 square metres. By November, 2004, the rest of the development is expected to be complete.

Phase two of the project includes Al Qasr hotel. Also equipped with 300 bedrooms, it will be "like a summer palace" decorated in rich burgundy, red, gold and cream.

The hotel, which will be built on a small hill, will have larger rooms than the Mina A' Salam. The smallest room will be 55 square metres. Surrounding the Al Qasr hotel will be a group of 31 private villas.

Those at the front of the Al Qasr hotel will overlook the sea, while the villas at the back will have a view of the lagoon. Additionally, there are another eight "very exclusive" villas being built as part of the second phase.

Also part of phase two is the development of a 9,000 square metre convention centre. It is expected that 55 per cent of the guests at the Madinat will be leisure visitors, about 18 cent will be business travellers and the rest will be the incentive market.

"With Dubai being only six hours from Europe, and with the IMF meeting coming up, Dubai is moving very much towards the convention market. So, the conference centre is very important to us.

"It will be the biggest in the Middle East. And our guests will have the advantage of being at a big leisure style hotel that has all the business needs.

"The facilities will be the same as hotels in town, but it will also have the added advantage of being right on the beach."

While it was important that the hotel complex provides privacy for guests, it was also important in the planning stage that the needs of Dubai's residents were taken into account.

As the city of Dubai continues to spread further up Sheikh Zayed Road towards Jebel Ali, the development aims to attract residents from surrounding areas.

A souk, open to the public, more than 30 restaurants, and a health spa are expected to draw in the crowds.

"We are trying to please everyone with this. If you look at Dubai and the way it is developing, the most important people for the restaurants are the people of Dubai. That is why we have the souk. Also, with the amount of developments at this end of Dubai, the potential is enormous."

Zaalof believes that competition is good for Dubai's hospitality industry.

"Competition is very good and if you look at the hotels on the coast, they get very good business from repeat guests. When The Palm opens, it will be very much boutique hotels and a lot of the attraction will be a curiosity factor.

"But the good thing is there will be large hotels, boutique hotels and this is all good for Dubai."

Pricing for rooms is currently being worked out by the group. It is expected that rooms will be priced somewhere between the costs of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and the Burj Al Arab, he said.

While he did not reveal the cost of the project, Zaalof said that each square metre costs 25 per cent more than the standard costs of building a five - star hotel.

More than 3,000 people will be employed at the development when it opens in late November, 2004.