Monday, May 28, 2007
Vehicles travelling 50 km/hr above the speed limit will be confiscated immediately, a senior police official warned yesterday.
Brigadier Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Director of Dubai Police's Traffic Department, told Gulf News that two vehicles have been fitted with cameras and computer screens to catch speeding motorists. These vehicles will be deployed on June 1. More vehicles will patrol the roads in future.
Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Chief of Dubai Police, earlier ordered that unmarked police cars be equipped with radar cameras to clamp down on speeding.
If a motorist violates the limit, but does not exceed it by 50 km/hr, he/she will be fined on the spot and receive black points on the driving licence, Brigadier Al Zafein said... MORE
Posted by Jerald @ 11:07 PM GMT [Link]
The fast-changing Dubai skyline will sport at least six "supertowers" of more than 100 habitable floors, more than any other city in the world, as per information available.
The supertowers are Burj Dubai (where work continues after the completion of 126 floors), Burj Al Alam (slated to rise to 108 floors), the 101-storey Marina 101, Princess Tower (107 floors), the 120-storey Pentominium and Al Burj (which is expected to have between 180 and 200 floors).
Most of these buildings are in various stages of planning and construction although Burj Dubai - tipped to become the world's tallest tower - is powering ahead, adding a floor a week, and at least three others are in the early stages of construction. Work on Al Burj is not expected to start until Burj Dubai, whose height and floor-level are closely-guarded secrets, is completed.
So Dubai will remain in the news for developing supertowers until at least 2015. No city other than Dubai and Chicago hosts more than one supertower.
Chicago has two - the 108-storey Sears Towers and the 100-storey John Hancock Center. A third, the 118-floor 7 South Dearborn tower, is under construction.
The development of six "supertowers" will raise Dubai's stature among the world's megacities, not only in terms of height, but also beauty, aesthetics and design quality, architects and designers say.
Apart from Burj Dubai or Al Burj, which will probably be remembered more for their towering heights, Burj Al Arab, Dancing Towers and Dubai Towers might be photographed by tourists for their striking design and aesthetic appeal.
"When we design, we design the present, which shapes the future. It is about shaping a contemporary world," Karim Rashid, Designer with Karim Rashid Inc of the US, said at an IDF panel yesterday.
In terms of development, Dubai has one of the highest number of towers and skyscrapers under construction including hundreds on both sides of Shaikh Zayed Road, while more than 1,850 will be constructed at the Dubai World Central Airport City in Jebel Ali.
By 2015, Dubai will have six "supertowers" that will rise more than 100 habitable floors making it the only city with so many towers with more than 100 floors once completed, according to available information... MORE
Posted by Jerald @ 11:04 PM GMT [Link]
Sunday, May 13, 2007
What a farce! Adding tolls to the only complete road in Dubai with the heaviest usage. Virtually every other area is under construction. This is the absolute worst timing to introduce congestion tolls in Dubai. Complete the road system and Metro first! This is just another fine example of Dubai following the lead of the British (another bad idea)... just take a look at the traffic and headaches in London.
Advice to Shk. Mohammed: Please get some new advisers in the area of roads and transport.
Salik cards for the upcoming electronic toll system in Dubai will be available at all Emarat petrol stations in the country in June.
Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has signed an agreement with the Emirates General Petro-leum Corporation (Emarat) to sell cards for the toll system called 'Salik'.
Emarat will be committed by the agreement to sell Salik tags to users through its 180 sales outlets at a price of Dh100 each... MORE
Posted by Jerald @ 04:05 AM GMT [Link]
Rome was not built in a day, but Dubai was. Well almost. And this is how textbooks will probably refer to its metamorphosis a few decades down the line.
Many who are new to Dubai may find it difficult to believe how quick the city has been emerging as an iconic modern metropolis. Those living in the city for some time now are witness of this astounding metamorphosis.
Desert lands across Dubai, a little far from Aweer or Nad Al Sheba - that were only sand dunes just a few years ago, have been turned into landscaped developments with theme parks, residential, commercial and leisure centres... MORE
Posted by Jerald @ 03:58 AM GMT [Link]
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Dubai will create the world's largest shopping area, providing 17 times more retail space than Mall of the Emirates, currently the biggest shopping mall in the city.
The planned retail zone will be part of Bawadi, the Dh100-billion hospitality and leisure zone in Dubailand, Dubai's Dh235-billion tourism project that will host a number of Las Vegas-style hotels and Disneyland-type theme parks.
"The world's largest shopping area will offer over 40 million square feet of gross leaseable area (GLA)," a Dubai Holding statement said yesterday.
Bawadi, which will have 29,000 rooms in its 31 hotels by 2016, is being developed by Dubai Holding unit Tatweer. MORE
