Say Goodbye to Satwa

When the bulldozers arrived, it sent shockwaves through Satwa, one of the cheapest residential areas at the heart of Dubai. Speaking to the people living there inspires confusion: what do the green municipality numbers mean that have been spray-painted everywhere? When do they have to move out? Here Time Out attempts to show all sides of the story, from the voices of the tenants to those of the developers, as well as highlighting the parts of Satwa you should be soaking up while you can – and how to find out whether your home is set to be flattened.

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Nakheel to build four theme parks on Palm Jebel Ali

Orlando: Nakheel on Thursday announced an agreement with Busch Entertainment Corporation (BEC), the family entertainment division of US based Anheuser-Busch Co to develop four theme parks under the name Worlds of Discovery.

The theme parks will include SeaWorld, Aquatica, Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove.

BEC president and chief operating officer Jim Atchison announced the deal with Nakheel’s CEO, Chris O’Donnell, and The Palm Jebel Ali’s Managing Director, Marwan Al Qamzi, at SeaWorld Orlando yesterday.

Agreement

Nakheel and BEC reach-ed an agreement earlier this month for the construction of four theme parks on the second of Nakheel’s three palm-shaped man-made island developments. Orlando-based BEC operates 10 Worlds of Discovery parks across the US. The Worlds of Discovery will be built on a section of The Palm Jebel Ali known as ‘the Crown’.

“Dubai has fast become one of the world’s leading tourist destinations and a key part of the strategy has been attracting world-class entertainment brands to the emirate. We have already agreed partnerships with major brands such as Trump, Cirque du Soleil, and Atlantis, and the partnership with BEC is a further example of Dubai’s growth as a city of global prominence,” said O’Donnell.

The first phase of Worlds of Discovery is expected to open in 2012. Besides the four theme parks, the project will also include a variety of other family tourist attractions such as resort hotels, spas, shops and restaurants, O’Donnell said… http://gulfnews.com/business/Real_Estate_Property/10193605.html

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Dubai Metro Tunneling Reaches Completion

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Dubai Autoshow 2007

Here are some pictures from the Dubai Autoshow  2007 which I visited with several friends.

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Hypocrisy, Thy Name is Etisalat: Orkut.com banned in the UAE

Controversial website Orkut.com has been blocked in the UAE after Gulf News highlighted the concerns of readers that it contains sexually explicit material.

Etisalat banned the site yesterday on the orders of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).

As reported in Gulf News in recent days, some wanted Orkut banned because they feared people were using the site to find sexual partners.

“After the TRA was contacted by Gulf News, they went into this site and found out that it should be blocked,” an official TRA spokesman told Gulf News.

“Immediately they issued a formal letter to the Internet Service Providers in the UAE to block this site.” The letter was sent to Etisalat, the UAE’s main Internet Service Provider, by the TRA’s Director of Technical Affairs, Mohammad Geyath.

Orkut had been blocked before in the UAE, and was later unblocked after many users complained. The TRA spokesman said the TRA had never ordered that unblocking… SOURCE

I am sometimes amazed at how myopic people can be (UAE, or

anywhere). You will have people complaining about sites like Orkut,

but they will never look outside their own backdoor at the exploited

workers, or the sextrade going on in the city below.

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Congestion (You Better Believe It): Dubai overtakes Cairo

Dubai The city has the most congested roads in the Arab world, with people spending an average of one hour and 45 minutes daily commuting between home and work, a survey of 14 majors cities showed.

… MORE

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Native wadi fish under threat

Diminished water tables, the introduction of non-native fish and pollution is affecting the survival of an indigenous fish species.Colloquially known as wadi fish after their habitat, the first study of this species is currently under way and results so far have spread light on the threats mountain ecosystems and endemic species are facing here.

The main study site for this fish is in the catchment of Wadi Wurayah near Fujairah, which covers an area of 129 square kilometres.

Sixty-eight freshwater wadi pool habitats have been mapped in the last 18 months which range from small, isolated pools to extensive, flowing streams. The largest habitat is a water fall which at 8 metres high is the highest perennial waterfall in the UAE… SOURCE

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Time For Too Much Modhesh: Surprise themes to run simultaneously at DSS venues

The sales have started and Modhesh has been officially unleashed as the 10th annual Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) got underway yesterday.Dignitaries, members of the press and media, sponsors and youngsters packed the Dubai Airport Expo - home to the famous Fun City - for the launch of the annual extravaganza yesterday night.

Unlike previous years where themed surprise weeks have run separately over the period, to celebrate 10 years in style, this year the 10 surprise themes will run continuously across the city for the entire 10-week initiative.

Dubai Summer Surprises is the most prominent family entertainment summer event in the Middle East and since its inception the globally-renowned event has redefined the concept of shopping and entertainment.

The celebration will include raffles, promotions, shows and activities for people of all ages and much, much more.

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Seeking a balance between modern and old

A country’s architecture is an expression of national progress and this is especially true for emergent economies. In the early 1990s, several Asian cities invested in the construction of skyscrapers to send a message to the world in general and America in particular: we have arrived.

Asked what they thought about the statement “Dubai is an ongoing architectural experiment”, each had a unique response. While most shared praise for the emirate’s handling of the new development “rush”, some talked about the hurdles and suggested ways to remove them. All agreed local talent in design and architecture is rich but that talent needs guidance and support… MORE

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‘Dubailand’ aims to be Middle East Orlando

by Ali KhalilTue Jun 19, 12:28 AM ET

Widely touted as the Middle East’s very own Orlando, Dubailand, a cluster of mega-billion-dollar projects, is gradually emerging across the desert sands of the booming Gulf emirate.

Faced with a dwindling wealth of oil, Dubai has taken on a new challenge of larger-than-life projects in line with its ambition to become the region’s main business and leisure hub.

Already primed as a holiday destination, it is fast executing plans to build a host of new hotels, golf courses, malls and leisure facilities in order to more than double the number of tourists to 15 million by 2015.

Initially planned to cover an area of two billion square feet (185 square kilometres), Dubailand, billed as the “world’s most ambitious tourism, leisure and entertainment project,” is expected to be a sprawling three billion square feet. This would make it larger than the entire city of Orlando, Florida — home to Walt Disney World, Universal Resort, Sea World and a variety of other attractions and hotels.

“Dubailand is going to be a city within a city,” said Mohammed al-Habbai, chief executive officer of Dubailand, a subsidiary of the government-owned Tatweer.

“We are very confident in what we are doing,” he told AFP. “I would say that most of our projects are on time.”

Western-oriented Dubai’s bid to position itself on the world tourism map has propelled it way ahead of its oil-rich conservative Gulf neighbours.

It already prides itself on the sail-shaped Burj Al-Arab hotel and building three palm-tree shaped islands off the coast, where the ambitious island project in the shape of a world map has fast become yet another landmark.

On Monday, Dubai also announced its 100-million-dollar purchase of the Queen Elizabeth 2, one of the world’s most majestic cruise liners, which it plans to turn it into a luxury floating hotel berthed at one of the palm islands.

A model version of Dubailand still shows its vast barren surroundings, which in three years time will be awash with even more golf courses, theme parks, mega-malls and residential towers.

“This area will definitely be completely different by 2010,” when three million visitors a year are expected to Dubailand alone, said Habbai.

The entire 24-project venture, not scheduled for completion before 2025, is estimated to cost 235 billion dirhams (64 billion dollars, 48 billion euros), 60 percent of which is expected to come from private investors.

This does not even include the mammoth ‘Bawadi’ project, announced in 2006 as the world’s largest hospitality and leisure development consisting of more than 50 themed hotels with 60,000 rooms, almost double the number currently available in Dubai.

In May, the emirate’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, seen as the driving force behind Dubai’s phenomenal economic growth, announced doubling the value of Bawadi to 54 billion dollars.

One of its hotels, AsiaAsia, tipped to be world’s largest with 6,500 rooms, will be developed by Tatweer, with 45 percent of Bawadi already agreed upon with private investors, Habbai said.

Tatweer is part of Dubai Holding, a conglomerate owned by the government of Dubai which oversees mega-projects in the emirate, currently experiencing a burgeoning property boom.

In the throes of constructing the world’s highest building, whose ultimate height remains a closely-guarded secret, Dubai also plans to house a Great Wheel, whose size will rival that of the London Eye observation wheel.

Dubailand will also house the world’s largest transparent snow dome and a Universal Studio theme park, announced in March by Tatweer.

The latter will be part of a 2.2-billion-dollar Universal City Dubai, comprising 4,000 hotel rooms and some 100 restaurants.

Along with Tiger Woods Dubai — a 25-million-square-foot golf course and community featuring palaces and mansions by September 2009 — Universal City will be the only Dubailand projects funded by Tatweer.

Taking it one step further, the Falcon City of Wonders will boast replicas of the Pyramids, the Eiffel Tower and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Aqua Dunya is also expected to be one of the world’s largest water parks.

Several stadiums are being constructed in Dubailand’s Sports City and a comprehensive Motor City is taking shape around the currently operational Dubai Autodrome.

Despite the frenetic expansion, Habbai dismissed fears of saturation in the market, which currently faces a hotel room shortage in peak periods.

“Dubailand is going to create a new segment in the market for leisure and entertainment,” now mainly focused on beach and shopping holidays, he said.

Grandiose shopping malls are also well in the making in Dubai, a member of the seven-strong United Arab Emirates.

Tatweer announced in May a 2.7-billion-dollar deal with Al-Ghurair Investment to develop a four-million-square-foot mall in the Bawadi retail zone.

And the Mall of Arabia, expected to open its first phase in early 2009, aims to extend to become the world’s largest at 10 million square feet.

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