On Agenda: Dubailand a testament to an integrated approach

Whenever Dubai launches a new project, one of the first questions that is asked relates to its resources: where does Dubai get the money to finance such mega projects?

The question is asked not only within the country, but in different parts of the world where people simply marvel at the way things are happening in Dubai.

In fact, as General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and the UAE Defence Minister, made the dramatic announcement about the $5 billion Dubailand project the other day in the presence of a large audience assembled at an arabesque ball room of the sandstone-styled Madinat Jumeirah hotel, he acknowledged that there were many who doubted Dubai's initiatives whenever it embarked on something big and "some of them were present here in this room".

Does then Dubai possess a magic wand to create things out of nothing? Certainly not. Dubai has achieved success because the authorities have used the power of imagination and shown the tenacity to pursue what they desire.

Dubailand, no doubt, is a fancy project, but it is not based on fantasy. It is founded on unimpeachable facts. The project is the result of intensive studies conducted over the past two years with the help of international consultants.

Thanks to a series of successful ventures, Dubai is today a premier tourist destination. Over the past decade, the number of tourist visitors to the emirate has grown from a little over one million to 4.7 million, representing an annual growth of 16 per cent, a rate three times that of the global tourism industry.

The number of tourists visiting Dubai in the last four years has recorded 54 per cent growth. Last year, Dubai was ranked as the fastest growing tourist destination in the world by the World Tourism Organisation, with a visitor growth of 31 per cent. The emirate has taken giant steps to capitalise on this growth trend and set a target of attracting 15 million visitors by 2010.

This phenomenal growth, both achieved and projected, is a testament to the integrated approach of the government and the private sector working in partnership for mutual benefit. And that is what will make Dubailand happen.

Dubai has been experimenting with a new approach to development, which envisaged the government creating the basic infrastructure, with the private sector building on it. Projects like Dubai Media City, Internet City and the Palm Islands represent the epitome of success in this approach. The huge expansion of Dubai Media City, for instance, is now entirely driven by the private sector and the government has stopped building. By investing in the infrastructure and building up the foundation, the government has created confidence in the private sector that further investments by them would produce handsome returns.

Higher investments

Since it came up a couple of years ago, the complex has attracted over Dh6 billion in direct investment. Now the private sector is about 20 new office towers in the Internet City, which will take the total investment to much higher levels. The Dh3 billion Dubai Pearl project coming up in the Media City is entirely a private enterprise, and is supposed to be the biggest in the private sector so far.

But Dubailand is sure to overtake all this. A product of extraordinary vision, Dubailand seeks to create the most ambitious tourism, leisure and entertainment destination ever attempted. The government will spend a fifth of the total investment to create the infrastructure while there will be 45 main projects and some 200 sub-projects in which the private sector can join strategic partners, who will handle the main elements of the project, categorised into six sections. It can channel a good deal of money floating around in search of a direction, which is what the project is providing.

Dubailand has been conceived on a phenomenal scale and its successful execution will be capable of redefining success.

The writer is a UAE-based journalist.