DUBAI’S beautiful beaches had been making headlines because of a couple who had sex by the sea, but a more pervasive nuisance from washed up sewage threatens to deter tourists.For several weeks some of the emirate’s fabled beaches have been covered with the stinking contents of septic tanks as Dubai suffers the consequences of its frantic and poorly controlled development.The foul effluent, which threatens to damage ’s image, highlights one of the paradoxes of the emirates – it can build the world’s tallest tower and six-star hotels but has not constructed the sewage works it needs.Dubai officially had 1.3 million inhabitants at the end of 2006 but its population is ballooning.New apartment blocks and neighbourhoods are rising everywhere at a record pace, but infrastructure is dragging behind.For example, the city still has no main drainage system, hence the need for tankers to collect the contents of septic tanks and transport the waste to the emirate’s only sewage treatment works at Al-Awir, out in open desert.
A second plant is under construction but will not be in use until next year.
Category Archives: Dubai
THE opening of Dubai’s new mega shopping mall has been marred by sharks in the centre’s 10 million-litre aquarium savaging each other.Sand tiger sharks killed at least 40 smaller reef sharks in the aquarium, which features the world’s single largest school of sharks and the largest viewing platform, reports the UK’s Telegraph.Divers carrying out tasks in the tank have also been attacked by the aggressive sharks.Home to more than 33000 living specimens, including 400 sharks, the underwater display is the centrepiece of the new 12 million sq ft Burj Mall.The aquarium features a 270-degree acrylic walkthrough tunnel designed to give shoppers close encounters with some of the most diverse marine life on the planet.Built next to the world’s tallest building – the Burj Dubai – the $20 million mall boasts more than 1200 shops and is home to the world’s largest gold market .
DEVELOPERS in have announced plans to build a tower 1km high – beating the booming city state’s own world record.With the world’s tallest building, the Burj Dubai, nearing completion, Dubai World president Sultan Ahmed bin Sulaim said the new tower would be “one of a kind”.The tower, which will take more than a decade to complete, will be the centerpiece of a sprawling development state-owned builder Nakheel plans to create in the rapidly growing “New Dubai” section of the city.Foundation work has already begun on the tower.The tower will be located between two of the city’s artificial palm-shaped islands, which Nakheel also built.
The project will include a manmade inland harbor and 40 additional towers up to 90 floors high. About 150 elevators will carry employees and workers to the Nakheel Tower’s more than 200 floors, the company said.The building will be composed of four separate towers joined at various levels and centered on an open atrium.”It does show a lot of confidence in this environment of worldwide credit problems and a souring global economy,” Standard Chartered Bank’s Dubai-based regional head of research Marios Maratheftis said.
Dubai is already home to the world’s tallest building, even if it remains unfinished.The Burj Dubai, or Dubai Tower in Arabic, is being built by Nakheel’s chief competitor, Emaar Properties.Emaar has kept the final height of the silvery steel-and-glass tower a closely guarded secret, saying only that it stood at a “new record height” of 688 metres at the start of last month.It’s due to be finished next September. The final height of Nakheel’s proposed tower is likewise a secret, as is the price tag. The company would only say it will be more than 1km tall – or the height of more than three of New York’s Chrysler Buildings stacked end-to-end.
The Palm Islands in are the three largest artificial islands in the world. They are being constructed by Nakheel Properties, a property developer in the United Arab Emirates, who hired the Dutch dredging and marine contractor Van Oord, one of the world’s specialists in land reclamation. The islands are The Palm Jumeirah, The Palm Jebel Ali and The Palm Deira. The Islands are located off the coast of The United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf and will add 520 km of beaches to the city of Dubai.The first two islands will comprise approximately 100 million cubic meters of rock and sand. Palm Deira will be composed of approximately 1 billion cubic meters of rock and sand. All materials will be quarried in the UAE. Between the three islands there will be over 100 luxury hotels, exclusive residential beach side villas and apartments, marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities and health spas. The creation of The Palm Jumeirah began in June 2001. Shortly after, The Palm Jebel Ali was announced and reclamation work began. In 2004, The Palm Deira, which will be almost as large in size as Paris, was announced. Palm Jumeirah is currently open for development. Construction will be completed over the next 10-15 years.
A total of 55 new hospitality developments with a combined value of USD 277 billion are set to be built in Dubai by 2011.With intentions to power the flourishing hospitality industry, Raqmiyat-a leading UAE-based systems integrator-and TimeLox International-a pioneering developer and maker of e-locking systems for the international hotel sector–are presently drawing attention to the new TimeLox security and access ways out at the Technology & Security Sector – ‘Hotel Show 2008′, stand N15, Zabeel Hall of the Dubai International Convention Centre.
TimeLox Optima, which is designed mainly for new developments and major refurbishment projects with a necessity for stylish design, is a two-piece door system offered with a fine bezel, and high-quality solid brass handles and locks cases.Sandeep Saxena, Assistant Vice President – Business Development, Raqmiyat, said, “Tourism has become one of the most dominant industries in Dubai, and continues to be an increasingly important sector that drives the emirate’s GDP. As the tourism sector maintains its unprecedented growth trend, the emirate’s rapidly expanding number of hotels and leisure facilities are taking pioneering steps to provide the most lavish amenities to customers.
The Hotel Show 2008’s significant contribution to the market’s growth has been driven by the event’s ability to gather a captured top-calibre audience and provide exhibiting vendors with optimal opportunity to build important business relationships crucial to surpassing competition. Our participation at the event is aimed at bringing forward TimeLox’ security and access solutions, especially the outstanding features of its newest product – TimeLox Optima to leading players in the hospitality industry”.
