SM Goh gets briefed on Dubai's "The Palm Jumeirah" man-made islands

Dubai's iconic projects boost its tourism industry
Channel NewsAsia 3 Feb 08;

DUBAI: Iconic projects around Dubai belied its ambition to turn barren desert into a world class destination.

The Palm Jumeirah, fanning out into the Arabian Gulf, is hailed as a symbol of Dubai's growth, innovation and vision for the future.

It is one of the world's largest man-made islands, covering 560 hectares or more than 600 football fields.

Built entirely on reclaimed land, it is also the smallest of three Palm Islands.

The Singapore delegation, led by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, was briefed on Sunday on the development which will be home to over 8,000 residents from 70 nationalities when it is completed.

The first-phase properties – 4,000 in total – were sold within 72 hours of the initial sales release. Its developer said the average premiums on properties are between 70 percent and 120 percent, with some reaching up to 300 percent.

In about six years, premier resorts like 'Altantis, The Palm' will also take their places on the island.

Mr Goh visited the Mall of the Emirates which is presently the largest shopping complex in Dubai. The upcoming Dubai Mall will take the top spot when it is ready in 2009.

Mall of the Emirates boasts Middle East's first indoor ski resort where patrons can ski or snowboard in a safe environment.

Ski Dubai is completely insulated, with temperature kept at about minus 2 degrees Celsius. It has five different runs of varying difficulty and length of up to 400 metres. 27 snow guns spray a mist of water and air, creating snow flakes in the process.

Another hot property is Downtown Burj Dubai, slated to be the world's tallest building at over 700 metres high. The final height is a closely guarded secret to prevent new buildings from topping its feat.

There, Mr Goh toured serviced apartments – a component of Burj Dubai alongside retail shops and the Armani Hotel.

The delegation also visited the Souk Al Bahar, a stylish leisure and retail attraction in the Old Town Island, right in the heart of the Downtown Burj Dubai development.

Earlier, Mr Goh paid a visit to the Dubai Healthcare City – an integrated hub which provides quality healthcare services, medical education and research.- CNA/so

SM Goh gets a sense of Dubai's mega-projects
Lee Siew Hua, Straits Times 4 Feb 08;

From world's tallest building to indoor ski resort, emirate dazzles and wows
By Lee Siew Hua
DUBAI - SENIOR Minister Goh Chok Tong has viewed the icons of the New Dubai skyline to sense the scale of this tiny emirate's mega-projects and global drive.

Over the weekend, Mr Goh also toured the Palm Jumeirah, a series of palm- shaped man-made islands where sports icons Tiger Woods and David Beckham have already picked up their own luxury villas.

He also viewed the sleek Burj Dubai, soon to be the world's tallest building.

And, paradoxically, he walked on snow inside an indoor ski resort in the desert.

At the Palm Jumeirah, Mr Goh was shown how the world's largest set of man- made islands was created from an old pearl village.

It started when the ruler of Dubai, Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, drew a traditional palm tree and realised its fronds would add beach frontage to Dubai.

The skills gained earlier from re-engineering the coast to build Jebel Ali Port were applied to the project, now the home and playground of the moneyed set who began moving in last year.

'That's the spirit of Dubai,' said Dr Yu Lai Boon, a Singaporean who is the group chief investment officer of Dubai World, the holding company that manages businesses and projects for the Dubai government.

On a mild winter day, Dr Yu also showed Mr Goh a 7,000-sq-ft villa priced at US$5 million (S$7 million) that came with a private beach facing blue water.

The Palm Jumeirah is the first of three islands being built in the Arabian Gulf and will add 1,000km of new beach frontage to Dubai.

The islands will have luxury homes, hotels, retail outlets, a monorail, an aquarium with 65,000 different types of fish and more. American tycoon Donald Trump is also building a hotel there.

Seagrass will be transplanted to balance the ecology.

Mr Goh also viewed the Burq Dubai, expected to be world's tallest building when completed next year.

Said to be at more than 700m high, its final height is 'still a secret', said Mr Greg Sang, director of projects at Emaar Properties.

Finally, Mr Goh entered a ski resort at the Mall of the Emirates, the biggest shopping mall outside North America.

Skiers, many of them children, zipped down the gentle snow-covered slope of Ski Dubai. The temperature is kept at -1 to -2 deg C.

The resort is a testament to the surreal scale of Dubai's rush into modernity, even as it preserves its Arabic culture.

The planning of the New Dubai has been accelerated in recent years, as the emirate is quickly spending petro-dollars to diversify its economy.

It aims to cut dependence on oil revenues, and one economic goal is to heighten tourism.

This has in turn created superlatives like the Palm Jumeirah - all largely powered by the foreign talent who form 80 per cent of the workforce.

Today, the non-oil sector is responsible for about 95 per cent of Dubai's total GDP.

These changes were pushed by Sheikh Mohammed, whom Mr Goh met yesterday.

Mr Goh wrapped up his week-long visit to Qatar and Dubai to intensify links with the Middle East yesterday. He returns to Singapore today.

Rivals? Singapore, Dubai don't see it that way
On the contrary there's much scope for cooperation
Oh Boon Ping, Business Times 4 Feb 08;

BOTH Singapore and Dubai have reiterated that they do not see each other as competitors, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong after his meeting with the ruler of Dubai yesterday.

SM Goh called on Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, and they agreed that there are areas in which they can cooperate.

At a briefing, he told Singapore reporters that both parties discussed the points of cooperation such as public sector reform, healthcare and education.

Of note is the potential tie-up in healthcare services that may see Singapore hospitals invest in the Dubai Healthcare City - a S$3.5 billion facility with a university medical complex and medical cluster.

This is with a view to tapping the market in the Middle East.

Mr Goh said: 'We should be keen because we are now servicing some of these patients, from Yemen and Oman. If the Healthcare City succeeds, then these patients may go to Dubai instead. But if we are also in Dubai, then we can tap into this patient market.' Research collaboration can also be forged on diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, he added.

As for education, 'they are very keen on investing in human resources . . . and they want to know more about what we are doing'.

Indeed, a team of Dubai officials will be sent to Singapore to explore the feasibility of the tie-up, Mr Goh added.

Over the weekend, Mr Goh also visited some new and iconic developments in Dubai like the Mall of the Emirates, Ski Dubai, the Burj Dubai and the Palm Jumeirah Development.

The Palm Jumeirah is a US$5.5 billion palm- shaped man-made island in the Persian Gulf, where football stars such as David Beckham and Michael Owen have reportedly bought villas.

He was clearly impressed by the creativity involved in the project, adding that this is something Singapore can learn from.

On Saturday, Mr Goh also met some prominent Dubai businessmen. Possible areas of collaboration between Singapore and Dubai were also explored.

Mr Goh and his delegation left Dubai last night.

Size should not limit creativity
Lee Siew Hua, Straits Times 5 Feb 08;

BUILDING a huge city in Vietnam, and researching killer diseases.

Such new territory can be explored by Singapore and the booming Middle East, where small emirates like Dubai or Qatar do not let size limit their creativity and global drive, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said.

This attitude is among lessons Singapore can pick up from the Middle East, he said at the end of a week-long visit to Qatar and Dubai.

Noting that Dubai was involved in a project to develop a city in Vietnam, he said it was up to Singapore companies to find a role: 'We can be consultants for parts of the project. We can be contractors, designers, planners.'

Both Dubai and Qatar are fast adding iconic architecture to their skylines, and have property interests abroad.

Qatar has been invited to partner the Keppel-led consortium as an equity investor in the Tianjin Eco-City project.

Singapore is also prepared to negotiate a long-term supply of natural gas offered by Qatar, the world's biggest supplier of LNG.

Looking ahead, Qatar may even invest in the LNG terminal in Singapore if the sums are right, he said. But this will have to be a deal struck by commercial operators.

Mr Goh, who visited Dubai's Healthcare City, a medical hub, also pinpointed joint research in heart diseases and diabetes - a problem because of the sugar-rich diet there.

If the Healthcare City succeeds, some patients will go to Dubai, not Singapore.

'But if you're also present in Dubai, we can tap into this market,' he said.

Meanwhile, lessons for Singapore abound. It is not a case of simply the Middle East learning from the Republic, he indicated.

He was intrigued by Dubai's ability to find creative solutions. To extend its limited coastline, it started in 2005 to build the Palm Jumeirah, a palm-shaped set of islands. The 'fronds' are reclaimed fingers of land, and 1,000 km of shoreline will be added.

'This is creating something out of nothing,' he said.

Speed is another lesson. A Dubai businessman told him Singaporeans take too long to decide and that Singaporeans need to convey decisions to their Middle East counterparts faster.

Minister of State (Education) Lui Tuck Yew cited the example of Qatar, though small, hosting the 2006 Asian Games and bidding for the 2016 Olympics. He summed it up: 'They're not limited by their imagination.'