Developments in Dubai
The Dubai government's decision to diversify from a trade-based but oil-reliant economy to one that is service- and tourism-oriented has made real estate and other developments more valuable, resulting in the property boom from 2004–2006. Construction on a large scale has turned Dubai into one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.
Completed Developments
Burj al-Arab
The Burj al-Arab (Arabic: برج العرب, "Tower of the Arabs") is a luxury hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, built by Said Khalil. It was designed by Tom Wright of WS Atkins PLC. At 321 metres (1,053 ft), it is the tallest building used exclusively as a hotel.[1] However, the Rose Tower, also in Dubai, which has already topped Burj Al-Arab's height will soon take away this title upon its completion in 2007. It stands on an artificial island 280 metres (919 ft) out from Jumeirah beach, and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. It is an iconic structure, designed to symbolize Dubai's urban transformation and to mimic the shape of the sail of an Arabian boat dhow.
Mall of the Emirates
The Mall of the Emirates is a shopping mall in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is currently owned by Majid Al Futtaim (MAF Holding). It is currently the largest shopping mall in the Middle East. Mall of the Emirates contains approximately 2.4 million square feet of shops and the entire mall forms a total of approximately 6.5 million square feet. In a global perspective, the World's largest shopping mall, the South China Mall in Dongguan, China, contains approximately 7.1 million square feet of shopping space in a complex that totals approximately 9.6 million square feet[2].
Although it features the usual amenities for a mall (a fourteen-screen movie theater, a gaming arena, a typical variety of stores, and a soon-to-be-completed dramatic theater), its biggest claim to fame is the Middle East's first indoor ski slope, Ski Dubai. With the ski area, one of the largest in the world, the Mall of the Emirates seeks to differentiate itself from the dozen or so other newly completed malls in Dubai and the surrounding emirates.
Developments under Construction
The World
The World is a man-made archipelago of 300 islands in the shape of a world map currently being built off the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The World is one of a series of artificial island projects in Dubai, along with the Palm Islands, and like the other islands The World is being built primarily using sand dredged from the sea. The World is the brainchild of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai.
Oqyana, The World
OQYANA is an archipelago of artificial islands which make up the Australasian continent of The World development, off the coast of Dubai. The original plans were to have 14 islands (15 including the island occupying the position of Melanesia), which where assigned to the positions of Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea. The islands were purchased by The Investment Dar (a company based in Kuwait) and EFAD Holdings in late 2006. The name OQYANA comes from the Arabic word meaning Oceanic. The islands were selected as they are one of the closest group of islands from Dubai, and also have the best view of the city, which is approximately 4km (2.5mi) away.[3]
Dubai Metro
The Dubai Metro is a driverless, fully automated metro network currently under construction in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai. The network will have two third rail collection system powered lines that will both run underground in the city center and on elevated viaducts elsewhere on double tracks. The first phase of the network is being built by Dubai Rapid Link (DURL) Consortium which comprises Japanese companies including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Corporation, Obayashi Corporation, Kajima Corporation and the Turkish company Yapi Merkezi. The Dubai Metro will be operated by the Dubai Road and Transport Authority.[4] The Dubai Metro system will be the longest fully automated rail system in the world. Completion of the first section of the system is projected for 2009. Work has officially commenced on the construction of the rail.[5] Plans for the Dubai Metro began under the directive of Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum who expected Dubai's other projects to attract 15 million visitors by 2010. This combined with Dubai's rapidly growing population expected to reach 3 million by 2017 and severe traffic congestion necessitated the building of an urban rail system to provide additional capacity to public transportation, relieve motor traffic, and provide infrastructure for additional development.
Dubailand
Dubailand part of Dubai Holding, is an entertainment complex under development in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Construction of Dubailand has been divided into four phases. Work is currently been carried out on phase one of the project which is expected to see completion some time between 2006 and 2007. A few of the Dubailand facilities like the Dubai Autodrome and The Global Village are already operational.
Dubailand will include six zones (or worlds) under the banners of:
- Attractions & Experience World 13 km² (5.2 mile²), which will include theme parks, The Global Village, Kids City, Giants World, Water Parks, and Dubai Snowdome (an indoor ski resort).
- Retail and Entertainment World 4 km² (1.6 mile²), which will include a Flea Market, World Trade Park, Auction World, and Factory Outlets.
- Themed Leisure and Vacation World 29 km² (11.2 mile²), which will include Women's World, Destination Dubai, Desert Kingdom, and Andalusian Resort and Spa.
- Eco-Tourism World 75 km² (28.9 mile²), which will include Desert Safari, Sand Dune Hotel, Desert Camps, and Dubai Heritage Vision.
- Sports and Outdoor World 19 km² (7.4 mile²), which will include Dubai Sports City, Dubai Golf City, Emerat Sports World, Plantation Equestrian and Polo Club and the Dubai Autodrome.
- Downtown 1.8 km² (0.7 mile²), which will include the City of Arabia (Mall of Arabia, which will be the world's largest shopping mall), City Walk, The Great Dubai Wheel (which will be the world's 2nd largest observation wheel after Singapore Flyer), and Virtual Game World.
Bawadi, Dubailand
Bawadi is a project announced by the government of the United Arab Emirates and other investors on the 1st of May 2006. Its aim is to double the amount of rooms in the city of Dubai by 2016 to 29,000 rooms. One of the projects of this investment is the hotel resort Asia-Asia Hotel which will be the largest hotel in the world with more than 6,500 rooms. The development will have hotels along the strip that consist of Asian, Universal, The Americas, Middle Eastern, African, and European themes. Examples include the Wild Wild West Hotel for an American theme.
City of Arabia, Dubailand
The City of Arabia is a small city within the walls of Dubailand. It will include one of the worlds largest shopping centres, 34 commercial and residential towers, a dinosaur theme park, and a canal surrounded by residential and retail Middle Eastern-themed buildings.
Mall of Arabia will be a huge shopping mall to be built as part of City of Arabia in the Dubailand theme park premises in Dubai. It was announced by the Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group and it will include leisure and entertainment facilities, a theatre stage, and feature an ancient Middle Eastern exterior. Its Phase 1 has a Gross Leasable Area of 4 million sq. ft., however, when all phases are completed, it will a final Gross Leasable Area of 10 million sq. ft., becoming the largest mall in the world.
Dubai Sports City, Dubailand
The Dubai Sports City is an entire sports city currently being constructed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The city will consist of apartment buildings as well as several sports facilities. The first structures are due to open in late 2007. It will be used in Dubai's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. The main sports structure will be the 60,000 seat, multi-purpose outdoor stadium. This stadium will be used for athletics, football, and rugby. Other venues include a 25,000 seat cricket ground, a 10,000 seat indoor arena, a 5,000 seat field hockey stadium, and an 18-hole golf course designed by Ernie Els.
Dubai Autodrome, Dubailand
The Dubai Autodrome is an FIA sanctioned 5.39 km motorsports circuit located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The venue hosted the December 2005 A1 Grand Prix and has been proposed as a Formula One venue.
Burj Dubai
The Burj Dubai (Arabic: برج دبي for "Dubai Tower") is a supertall skyscraper currently under construction in the "New Downtown" of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Projected to be completed and occupied in 2008, the building is part of a huge development located at the "First Interchange" (aka "Defense round-about") along Sheikh Zayed Road at Doha Street. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) of Chicago is the lead architect, structural engineer and mechanical engineer of the Burj. George Efstathiou of SOM is the Managing Partner on the project, while Adrian Smith, formerly of SOM, was the Design Partner. Third Party Peer Review has been performed by CBM Engineers Inc. On completion, it will likely be the tallest structure in the world of any kind by a wide margin.
Several other mega-projects in various states of planning and construction may vie for the title of "tallest structure". One of Burj Dubai's main competitors is planned for a location only 50 km (31 miles) from the Burj Dubai site. Al Burj ("The Tower"), is being developed by Nakheel Properties which is also keeping its final height tightly under wraps. meed.com recently reported that this tower's projected height is around 1,200 m (3,937 feet) with at least 200 floors.
The Burj Dubai has been designed to be the centerpiece of a large-scale, mixed-use development that will include 30,000 homes, nine hotels such as the Burj Dubai Lake Hotel & Serviced Apartments, 2.5 hectares (6 acres) of parkland, at least 19 residential towers, the Dubai Mall, and the 12 hectare man-made Burj Dubai Lake. The complete 500 acre development will cost about US$20 billion. Once completed, the tower will cover a total of two million m² (22 million ft²) of development.
The silvery glass-sheathed concrete building will restore the title of Earth's tallest structure to the Middle East — a title not held by the region since Lincoln Cathedral upset the four millennial reign of Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza in 1311 AD.
Dubai Mall
The Dubai Mall is an enormous mall being built at 25°11′59.67″N 55°16′32.96″E / 25.1999083°N 55.2758222°E in Dubai, UAE, by Emaar properties, as part of the 'New Dubai' project. This mall claims to be the largest mall in the world when completed. It will cover a total area of more than 12 million ft² [6], with 10 - 15 individual smaller malls built inside it, consisting of 9 million ft² of shopping retail space (comprising of a total of more than 1000 stores). Featured attractions include the world's largest gold souk, the 850,000 ft² Fashion Island; one of the world's largest aquariums; an Olympic-sized ice skating rink; Oasis Fountain Waterfall; WaterFront Atrium; a view of the (soon to be completed) world's tallest building, Burj Dubai. The mall has already won five awards. It won two awards at the Retail Future Project Awards at MAPIC, Cannes, in 2004, for Best Retail Development Scheme (Large), Best Use of Lighting in a Retail Environment.[7] And the Dubai Mall brochure has won three awards at the Summit Creative Awards 2005, in Portland, Oregon; Gold award for Best Art Direction / Graphic Design, Silver award for Best 4-colour B2B Brochure, and Judges Special Recognition award.[7]
Dubai World Central
At the heart of Dubai World Central is the Dubai World Central International Airport, the world's largest passenger and cargo hub, ten times larger than Dubai International Airport and Dubai Cargo Village combined. World Central is the world's first truly integrated logistics platform, with all transport modes, logistics and value added services, including manufacturing and assembly, in a single bonded and Free Zone environment. Dubai World Central (not just the international airport) will have a total of 100,000 parking slots for automobile vehicles for both its employees, Dubai residents, tourists, and other users. This will give the air facility the distinction of having the largest parking facility in the world. The former title belonged to West Edmonton Mall's 20,000 parking slot parking lot.
Dubai World Central International Airport
Dubai World Central International Airport (IATA: JXB, ICAO: Unknown) is a colossal new airport under construction near Jebel Ali, south of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. It will be the main part of Dubai World Central, a planned residential, commercial and logistics complex. Upon completion it will be the fourth largest air facility in land area (physical size). Only three other air facilities are larger than Dubai World Central: King Fahd International Airport, Damman, Saudi Arabia, which is larger than the country of Bahrain, at 780 square kilometers; Montréal-Mirabel International Airport, Montreal, Canada, at 392 square kilometers; and King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at 225 square kilometers.
Due to the massive physical scale of the masterplan, others would come to claim that Dubai World Central would be the most ambitious airport project ever envisioned. The latest estimates by the government of Dubai peg the price tag at US$ 82 billion. This aerotropolis would be a whopping US$ 62 billion more expensive than the next most expensive airport project Hong Kong-Chek Lap Kok International Airport Core Project--which cost the Hong Kong government around US$ 20 billion (in 1997 dollars). This would also make it the most expensive single project in the world, ever (with the possible exceptions of the Dubai Waterfront, The Palm Deira, and New Songdo Intelligent City).
Palm Islands
The Palm Islands 25°06′28″N 55°08′15″E / 25.10778°N 55.13750°E in Dubai are the three largest artificial islands in the world. They are being constructed by Nakheel Properties, a property developer in the United Arab Emirates. The islands are The Palm Jumeirah, The Palm Jebel Ali and The Palm Deira. The islands were commissioned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in order to increase Dubai's tourism. Each settlement will be in the shape of a palm tree, topped with a crescent, and will have a large number of residential, leisure and entertainment centers. The Palm Islands are located off the coast of The United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf and will add 520km of beaches to the city of Dubai.
Palm Jumeirah
The Palm Jumeirah consists of a trunk, a crown with 17 fronds, and a surrounding crescent island that forms an 11 kilometer-long breakwater. The island itself is 5 kilometers by 5 kilometers. It will add 78 kilometers to the Dubai coastline. The first phase of development created 4,000 residences with additional villas and apartments over the following 3 to 4 years.
Residents began moving into the Palm Jumeirah properties by the end of 2006, five years after land reclamation began, according to project developer Nakheel Properties. This signaled the end of phase one of construction, which included approximately 1,400 villas on 11 of the fronds of the island and roughly 2,500 shoreline apartments in 20 buildings on the east side of the trunk.
Palm Jebel Ali
The Palm, Jebel Ali began construction in October 2002 and is expected to be completed in mid 2008.[8] Once it has been completed it will be encircled by the Dubai Waterfront project. The project, which will be 50 percent larger than the Palm Jumeriah, will include six marinas, a water theme park, 'Sea Village', homes built on stilts above the water, and boardwalks that circle the "fronds" of the "palm"
Palm Deira
The Palm Deira was announced for development on October 2004 and completion is expected in 2015, when it will become the largest of the three Palm Islands with 41 fronds.[9][8] It will cover an area greater than Paris. Projections indicate that construction will consume over a billion cubic meters of rock and sand. According to the company Ten Real Estate, "The Palm Deira will cover 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) in length and 8.5 kilometers (5.3 miles) in width and have an area of 80 square kilometers (861 million square feet). It will consist of residential property, marinas, shopping malls, sports facilities, and clubs. The residential area will be located on the fronds and will contain 8,000 two-story town houses in three distinct styles - Premier Villas, Grand Villas and Vista Town Homes"[9]
Proposed Developments
Al Burj
Al Burj is a supertall skyscraper proposed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates by developer Al Nakheel. If completed it will become one of the world's tallest skyscrapers and form the centrepiece of the Dubai Waterfront, the world's largest man-made waterfront which is also being developed by Al Nakheel. Although ground levelling and land reclamation has begun on the Dubai Waterfront, construction of the tower itself has not yet started. However, Nakheel is in talks with several potential contractors which include South Korean Samsung Group who is also building the Burj Dubai, Japanese Shimizu Corporation and Australian Grocon.
An article posted on Construction UAE and MEED.com [10] on March 16, 2007 indicates that construction on the tower is slated to begin later this year and that the final height of the tower will be 1,200 meters (3,937 feet), reduced from an initial height of 1,600 meters or just under one mile. This height would make the Al Burj tower considerably taller than its main rival across town, the Burj Dubai, which has been variously reported as reaching a final anticipated height at completion in 2009 of between 808 meters and 1,011 meters. It should be noted that the current holder of the world's tallest building title is the Taipei 101 tower, at a height of 508 meters to the top of its spire. Al Burj and Burj Dubai would both be considerably taller than any man made structure currently in existence. More remarkably, Al Burj would be over three times the height (to the top inhabited floor) of the iconic Empire State Building.
Trump International Hotel & Tower, Dubai
The Trump International Hotel & Tower is a proposed skyscraper hotel to be built at the trunk of the The Palm Jumeirah. It will be a 48 story mixed-use hotel and residential building with an estimated cost of U.S. $600 million. The hotel is expected to be a 300 room five-star hotel. Some of the amenities include are expected to be exclusive access to a private beach and yacht club with tennis courts, gymnasium and fitness centre, stylized pools and gardens.
Pentominium
The Pentominium is a supertall skyscraper, currently approved for construction in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. When completed, the current design will stand at 516 m(1,693 ft) tall, with 120 overground floors. It has been designed by architects Aedas, and funded by Trident International Holdings.
Dubai Waterfront
The Dubai Waterfront is proposed to become the largest waterfront and largest man-made development in the world. [11] The project is a conglomeration of canals and artificial islands; it will occupy the last remaining Persian Gulf coastline of Dubai, the most populous emirate of the United Arab Emirates. It will consist of a series of zones with mixed use including commercial, residential, resort, and amenity areas. [11] The vision of the project is "to create a world-class destination for residents, visitors and businesses in the world's fastest growing city". [11]
Human Rights and Labour
Migrants, particularly migrant workers, make up a majority (approximately 80%) of the resident population of the UAE, and account for 90% of its workforce.[12] They lack rights associated with citizenship and face a variety of restrictions on their rights as workers. It is common practice for employers in the UAE to retain employees' passports for the duration of the employment contract to prevent expatriate employees from changing jobs. This is an illegal practice, but it is almost never investigated, let alone punished by the government. On termination of an employment contract, certain categories of expatriates are banned from obtaining a work permit in the country for six months.
References
- ^ "World's Tallest Hotels". Emporis. 2006-06-01. Retrieved 2006-06-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ World's largest shopping malls compared, 20 January 2006, American Studies at Eastern Connecticut State University, retrieved April 25, 2006
- ^ Oqyana - Asia Travel Tips
- ^ Dubai Road and Transport Authority, UAE
- ^ Work begins on Dubai Metro project, Khaleej Times on March 22, 2006, retrieved March 22, 2006.
- ^ The Dubai Mall brochure collects three awards at Summit Creative Awards 2005, AME Info, May 24, 2005, retrieved March 12, 2006.
- ^ a b The Dubai Mall, Emaar, retrieved March 12, 2006
- ^ a b "The Palm Jebel Ali (Palm Islands, Dubai) - Property Development". The Emirates Network: Ten Real Estate. 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ a b "The Palm Deira (Palm Islands, Dubai) - Property Development". The Emirates Network: Ten Real Estate. 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ Waterfront Tower to be World's Tallest Landmark, Waterfront Tower to be World's Tallest Landmark, retrieved 2007-03-27
- ^ a b c "Project Overview". Dubai Waterfront. Retrieved 04 Aug.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/18/uae12233.htm