A dream city in the making

Host City visited Dubai to find out how the city is coping with its astonishing rise and whether an Olympic bid is imminent

In less than 40 years Dubai has transformed from a quiet coastal village to a world renowned city. Dubai is home to some of the most extravagant, daring and seminal buildings and current development shows that the city is still pushing to create new boundaries for the future.

New highways must relieve the
congestion the city experiences

Only 35 years ago clay huts and dust-roads dominated the infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates. Yet in 2008 it is believed that 20 per cent of all construction cranes in the world are located in its capital Dubai. The face of the city has transformed dramatically in recent years. Its strategic location on the north-south and east-west corridors of trading nations, its sunny climate and lucrative tax regime has made the nation a haven for the rich and famous.

With the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, Dubai is home to the only seven-star rated hotel in the world. Shopping malls like the Wafi Shopping Mall and the Palm Strip Shopping Mall, or one of the traditional Souks offer a wide variety of products that many people only can dream of, but which suddenly become available for almost everybody when Dubai hosts its annual Dubai Shopping Festival. People from all over the world fly to the Dubai International Airport, which is now listed as the biggest airport in the world.

“Bigger is better” is the motto in Dubai and the city has embarked upon a programme that will soon see the biggest artificial island in the world and the Burj Dubai Skyscraper as the tallest building in the world. The Burj Dubai Skyscraper will probably only hold this accolade for a short period as the structure will soon be challenged by a new building that intends to become 1000 metres high, beating the Burj Dubai Skyscraper by a mere 200 metres. This new building will also be located in Dubai and, like any other mega-project in the country, forms part of Dubai’s intention to become a much sought-after holiday and residential destination.

The value of building near water
Property developers in Dubai listen carefully to what the market demands. By 2017 the city expects to have a population of close to 3 million people. And as many people still prefer to live near water, a new project is underway that will create residential space for another 1.5 million people.

Located between the capital Dubai and the nation’s commercial hub Abu Dhabi, The Waterfront is another project that will set new standards. Waterfront City is a square island measuring 1310m x 1310m. The island is surrounded by an artificial body of water that is created by removing existing ground and once finished, the Dubai Waterfront will be the biggest man-made island in the world.

“Our aim is to create a world-class destination for residents, visitors and business travellers in the globe’s fastest growing city,” says Frank Konings for Nakheel Properties, the company that develops the project. The area will comprise a wide variety of residences, commercial districts and industrial areas. It will add another 70km of coastline and is believed to be twice the size of Hong Kong Island.

Part of the project is a 75 kilometre long canal that goes from the coast all the way to the desert. “Previous versions of the plan called for a radial pattern towards a centre with a high rise, but the real estate got less valuable as it got further away from the water. Having a vast waterfront spreads the real estate value across the site,” says Reinier de Graaf, a partner at Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. OMA is partly owned by renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and the company has been involved in several groundbreaking projects. Its involvement in Dubai is growing significantly.

Automatic railway beats traffic
Although by using high-density buildings OMA aims to stimulate people to living in the Waterfront to walk, rather than using a vehicle to move around, a USD 229m (RMB 1.57bn) contract for road and infrastructure works has also recently been awarded and is scheduled to be finished within two years. The infrastructure will link the Waterfront Development with the Sheikh Zayed Road, the city’s major traffic artery. Once inhabitants make it to this highway they will have to deal with the increasing traffic congestion Dubai is experiencing.

Those fortunate enough to be able to afford a property on the island will notice little of the congestion that has become a burden for the city inhabitants. The small roads that twist through the old city, which was never built according to a grid, can no longer cope with the increasing number of vehicles as well as the increasing size of the vehicles.

To get around this problem, Dubai is currently constructing a metro system. “The Metro System aims to provide an alternative mode of transport to ease congestion, save passengers travelling time, reduce traffic pollution thereby improving environmental quality, improve mobility within the City, provide a connection to Dubai International Airport and deliver modern, comfortable and reliable services to the Metro users,” says Ahmed Al Hammadi of the Dubai Rail and Traffic Authority. The line will be 70 kilometres in length and will have 47 stations. “Expansion with two more lines in the future is already included in the design.”

Like anything else in the city, the Dubai Metro will beat any of its competitors elsewhere in the world. It will be the longest fully automated rail system in the world when it opens in 2009.

Dubai Sports City: the key to the Olympics
The United Arab Emirates government is well aware of the downside of the growing wealth of its population as well as the international trend for health and welfare. Obesity and other wealth-related diseases are increasingly becoming a problem.

In the absence of significant existing sports infrastructure, new facilities are currently being built to contribute to the health of the people and to make Dubai into the international sports capital. Like any other project in the city, Dubai Sports City is developed along the lines of “the bigger, the better”.

Its design and layout has been inspired by some of the greatest cities in the world. With various sporting venues, academies, residential and retail development Dubai Sports City is a city by itself. Once the project has been finished, the area will consist of six different zones. Each zone has its own theme which ranges from retail to residential and sports.

Thanks to the commitment of the likes of Manchester United, Ernie Els, David Lloyd and many other renowned professionals and organisations, Dubai Sports City will boast some of the most sophisticated and advanced sports facilities. This includes a 25,000 seat cricket stadium, a 60,000 seat outdoor arena for track and field events, as well as a 10,000 seat multi-purpose indoor arena.

The development of Dubai Sports City has made the country’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, embark upon a new mission. Whilst on a flight from Beijing to Shanghai during a state visit to China before the 2008 Olympics, the Sheikh reportedly told journalists that Dubai should host a Summer Olympics in the near future.

Dubai Sports City's general manager for sports business Macky Dudhia says: “If the Government of Dubai decides to bid for the Olympics, we would fully support that bid in any way we can, including being a host venue for some of the events and a training base for athletes.”

Of course, hosting an event of such magnitude will take more than Dubai Sports City alone. "An Olympic Games in Dubai would need certain other facilities to be built to cater for the full range of events. In addition to the sporting facilities, support infrastructure such as the athlete's village, press specific facilities and public transport will all need to be put in place,” Dudhia says.

No target year for a bid has yet been identified. 2020 would be the first opportunity. But with Qatar’s bid for Doha 2016 rejected due to issues including climate, the Sheikh can anticipate there may be problems along the way. He is, however, sure that one great sportsman will be immortalised in his city, though his sport is unlikely ever to make it to the Olympics. Former Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher has linked his name to a new 59-story building. Those interested can start putting money aside to invest in an apartment in the Michael Schumacher World Champion Tower.

Holiday destination par excellence
With David Beckham and Tom Cruise amongst those who own property in Dubai, the city is rapidly becoming a haven for the rich and the famous. Dubai is also working hard to improve its appearance as a desirable holiday destination. With plans to provide 100,000 hotel rooms by 2015, the city’s hotel capacity is anticipated to grow to accommodate 15 million tourists – twice the number of tourists the city had in 2007.

“Market forces determine the need for more hotels and the market for visitors to Dubai is growing, making it essential to increase capacity,” says Khalid bin Sulayem, marketing director-general of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce. “We will continue our efforts and initiatives to put Dubai firmly on the world tourism map. We have made the world take notice of our hard work and dedication towards building a world-class destination. We are creating better public-private sector partnership to achieve the desired goals and take Dubai to newer heights of popularity and credibility.”

When asked earlier this year if the room rates are high, the director-general’s plain and simple response was: “No, not when you see the quality and service levels that are provided in Dubai compared with other destinations.”

The Department has established six offices globally to ensure a steady flow of tourists coming to Dubai. One of their most important plans is their work on rediscovering the nation’s cultural history. There are currently very few museums apart from the Dubai Museum. But as the nation is not short on money, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid plans to build new museums which will become home of the globe’s most reputed paintings and art works. Negotiations with other museums and galleries are currently underway to be able to get the items into Dubai.

Security in cultural conflict
The growing number of tourists and Dubai’s tendency to develop away from conservative Islamism in the Middle East makes the city a potential target for terrorism and theft. But the Dubai police force sees no reason for fear.

“We are doing everything we can to keep Dubai as safe and secure as possible for residents, tourists and investors,” says the Deputy Commandant-General of Dubai Police, Major-General Khamis Matar A.Muhairi Al Mazeina. “The Tourist Security Department was set up with the aim of taking care of tourists. This department seeks to provide utmost security to tourists as the Government of Dubai considers tourism as one of the pillars of its economy.”

In an attempt to create a secure environment, the Dubai police force works closely with the Coast Guard and Customs. “We have very strong cooperation with the two departments. We even coordinate with the various law-enforcement departments of other emirates. We work in tandem and under one umbrella to ensure the country’s security. There are strong links between us and the Coast Guards, between us and the Customs and between us and the other countries in the region. We have discussed this with other countries. We exchange information. If there is any assistance they need, we render it. We make arrangements for delivery controls, if required, after consulting the attorney-general to cover the legal aspects of the operation.”

For the next few years Dubai will remain the world’s largest construction site and even when all current projects are finished the city is likely to add some more. Dubai’s reputation will continue to get bigger and create new benchmarks to redefine “better”.