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In the shallow waters of the
Persian Gulf,
an amazing feat in imagination and engineering is taking shape.
 Huge
dredges are pouring out countless tonnes of sand by day and night, forming
what has been hailed as the eighth wonder of the world.
And it's only an introduction to what's to come – a whole new world for
travellers to discover.
Just off the coast of Dubai,
a unique project is being created. A palm-shaped series of islands that will
house five-star hotels, resorts, restaurants, shops, a sea village and an
amusement park.
A huge freeway will form the "trunk" of the palm, linking the mainland to
the 16 "fronds" of the first island, the Palm Jumeirah, on which will be
built houses and apartments.
All blocks of land on the Palm were sold within 72 hours; people are
already moving into the first buildings.
The property section of the Khaleej Times spruiks "investment opportunity
of a lifetime", with ads for $300,000 two-bedroom, 168sqm apartments on the
18th floor. Three-bedroom apartments with an ocean view cost $1.2 million.
Need something smaller? One-bedroom apartments start at around $100,000.
What is awesome is that the Palm Jumeirah is only the first of four
gigantic developments in the sea off Dubai.
The second, the Palm Jebel Ali, is billed as "a destination like no other
on Earth". It will have resort hotels, a sea village, apartments and
water-sport facilities.
Between the crown and the crescent of the Palm will be four-bedroom
houses, linked by boardwalks whose shapes will spell out a four-line poem in
Arabic. The poem was composed by the creator of the dream and the driving
force behind Dubai's headlong push into the world of tourism and big, big
business.
One of the four lines sums him up: "It takes a man of vision to write on
water."
His Highness Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is committed to
transforming Dubai into one of the world's top travel and business
destinations. He's crown prince of Dubai, the United Arab Emirates Minister
for Defence, and chairman of the Department of Tourism and Commerce
Marketing.
Some of the other works under way include The World, a collection of 300
private islands in the shape of the continents of the world.
Australia – all 14 islands of it – has been sold to an international
financier. The reported starting price is $9.8million an island.
The islands are being created for privacy and, of course, exclusivity.
Buyers get a sand patch. What they do with it is their business, as long
as the plan meets the islands' development regulations.
One plan proposes an 18-hole golf course, with a house in the middle and
nothing else except a boat landing. Another is to join two islands with a
bridge upon which a house would be constructed.
Then there's the third palm, the Deria – a 40-frond edition with the
features of the others plus more.
I'll leave you to your imagination with this one, and introduce the Dubai
Waterfront. Here, you can actually believe all the PR words such
as "unimaginable" and "unprecedented". It begins with the Arabian Canal,
a waterway link from the coast out into the desert and back to a huge
development which envelopes Palm Jebel Ali and makes it look like a grape
hanging on a bunch.
The harbour and surrounds, created by semicircles of islands, will be
"bigger than Manhattan and Beirut" and include 250 communities. The vision
is to create a world-class destination for residents, visitors and
businesses.
One of the world's tallest buildings will be the focal point of the
central business district and new downtown Dubai.
Planners are not saying how high the building will be until China has
finished its latest effort to produce the world's tallest building.
If that isn't enough, here's a brief look at the new International City –
all 800ha of it, with tourist attractions that include a 300m enclosed ski
field, and communities built in the architectural style of countries such as
England, Russia, Spain, Italy, China, Greece, Persia and Morocco.
The ski mountain, dubbed Ski Dubai, even has snowboard trails.
The plan is for the city to be filled with more than 60,000 residents and
become a hub for international investors, traders and retailers.
It's also aimed at the more than five million tourists who visit Dubai
each year. That figure is forecast to double in two years.
The attractions planned for International City include a replica of
Beijing's Forbidden City.
The new ancient wonder, complete with water and cultural courts, will
feature two open-air performance areas, landscaped Chinese gardens, museum
and cultural courts and six gateways.
The Dragon Mart, 50ha of trade mall in the form of a colourful dragon
with a 1.4km central spine, will be a permanent exhibition and commercial
area for more than 3000 Chinese companies and traders. Battery-powered cars
will provide transport within.
One of the biggest developments among all these innovations is Dubailand,
"100 times the size of Monaco and twice the size of Disneyworld in Florida".
Ten projects are already under way, among them a global village,
autodrome, water park, ski dome, equestrian centre, Arabian legends theme
park, sports world and the Dubai Sports City, to be managed by golfer Ernie
Els and tennis champion David Lloyd.
And because shopping is always high on the tourist list, there will be
many who are more than happy to hear that 20 new malls are being built,
totalling five million sqm of retail area.
The spectacular Ibn Battuta Mall, developed by Savills Australia, adds
300 retail outlets and a mix of exclusive themed retail, lifestyle and
leisure outlets. It is divided into six zones, representing Andalusia,
Tunisia, Egypt, Persia, India and China.
It also has a 21-screen cinema complex and the first IMAX theatre in the
UAE.
Another bonus for the traveller is Dubai's location: less than eight
hours' flying time from London, six from Frankfurt, four from Cairo, eight
from Hong Kong and some 14 hours from Australia.
To round it off, a new cruise terminal has been built at the mouth of
Dubai Creek, the only dedicated cruise facility in the Persian Gulf.
Built in the shape of a ship, it sits beside a 335m berth at Port Rashid,
a 15-minute drive from the airport.
This country is indeed making the future.
Emirates has direct flights from Sydney to Dubai
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