megaprojects in Dubai Archives - Circles in the SandCircles in the Sand

Working on a business magazine that reports on Dubai’s latest building boom, I get the scoop on the multibillion-dollar megaprojects that the emirate is so fond of.

By these, I mean things like the planned Bollywood theme park, the life-like dinosaur park, the double-decking of Sheikh Zayed Road, the new skyscrapers, and secretive projects such as the 2008 plans to build a Union Canal through Al-Quoz.

The schemes that are the most intriguing are the more fanciful ones, even if they tend to borrow from other parts of the world.

Modelled on the London Eye, do I need to tell you it’ll be the biggest Ferris wheel in the world!

Eighteen months ago, the emirate announced it intended to build a replica of the Taj Mahal (only bigger) and a copy of the Egyptian pyramids containing offices and a museum.

This was the first clue that Dubai was moving on from a debt crisis the size of China quicker than you could say ‘refrigerated beach’.

Now, not only is there a whole new city being built (with 100 hotels, a Universal Studios and a park bigger than London’s Hyde Park), but work is also underway to create a new island off the coastline that will cradle the Dubai Eye. There are plans to build an opera house next to the Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall is being extended and, of course, there’s an Expo to host.

When a photo was emailed to me at work recently, it occurred to me that if we were REALLY rich, we’d invest in a waterfront property along the gondola-serviced mini-Venice currently being excavated:

Dubai takes on Venice: The AED1.7bn Dubai Water Canal Project will excavate a 2.5 kilometre canal connecting Business Bay to the Gulf ( running under Sheikh Zayed Road)

Dubai takes on Venice: The AED1.7bn Dubai Water Canal Project will create a 2.5km canal connecting Business Bay to the Gulf (flowing under Sheikh Zayed Road)

But, then, as I was driving home, I was reminded by a gigantic, oversized billboard poster that there’s a development springing up in our neighbourhood (which, when we moved here five years ago, was just barren desert) boldly advertising itself as The Beverly Hills of Dubai. Eat your heart out Al Barari!

Hello, Mr Trump! Welcome to the neighbourhood

The cheesy billboard (pictured below) makes me laugh, not least because the scrubby landscape beyond the huge advert is as flat as a pancake and distinctly sandy coloured, not green. But when you look into it, the proposed development is rather impressive: comprising high-class villas, townhouses, and an 18-hole golf course, to be named Trump International Golf Club after the eccentric US businessman.

And that’s not all: also being built in our area is Akoya Drive, which will apparently be modeled on Paris’ Champs Elysees, with shopping, a cinema screen, and (no kidding) an outdoor artificial ice skating rink.

Looks like we should stay put in the ‘Dubai belt’, after all. See you on Rodeo Drive – in six years’ time!

Building boom on our doorstep: Much too big to take in one shot, so here's a wonky panorama of half of the Beverly Hills billboard, featuring Marlon Brando from the Godfather

Building boom on our doorstep: Too big to take in one shot, so here’s a wonky panorama of the Beverly Hills billboard, featuring Marlon Brando from the Godfather

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt about Dubai, it’s that nothing stays the same for very long. Yes, there was a lull, when tools were downed and the rapid pace of construction ground to a shuddering halt, but that’s all in the past now: Dubai is back, with some audacious megaprojects in the pipeline.

Right on our doorstep, it would seem.

“Look,” I exclaimed to DH the other day, as we drove into our compound. “How did I not notice that before?” I was referring to the rows of half-built houses, rising out of the desert like a mirage.

“Yep,” said DH. “That’s the end of the Cliffs of Despair and Devil’s Ditch,” he sighed, recalling the geographical features we’d named and rolled toy dump-trucks down while entertaining our boys in the vast patch of desert wasteland across the road from our compound.

When we first moved to our current villa, it all felt rather pioneering, with very little out here other than sand – miles and miles of the stuff, stretching into the far blue yonder and punctuated by wirey, heat-resistant shrubs. Now, we’re firmly in the Dubai ‘belt’, and developments are springing up all around us.

Not all that far from where we live is the site for the proposed Expo 2020. If you’re a resident of Dubai, you would had to have been living under a rock with the scorpions for the past year to not know about this – and with just TWO days to go until the decision is made, it’s fair to say that the anticipation has reached fever-pitch.

(If we don’t get it, I’m not sure I could bear the disappointment [crosses everything and wishes Dubai good luck!].)

The other candidate cities are Yekaterinburg in Russia, Izmir in Turkey and Sao Paulo in Brazil, and the word on the street is the emirate is a strong contender [C’mon Dubai!].

We’ve been writing about the Expo-factor at work for months now, as it’s undoubtedly triggering swathes of developers to descend like hawkes – but, the fact is, even without the Expo, Dubai is in the ascendant again. Here’s just a sample of some of the projects the emirate has up its sleeve – coming soon in your neighbourhood:

Inspired by the London Eye, Dubai’s very own Ferris wheel will be the central attraction on a new island being constructed

• An opera house is planned for Downtown Dubai. Earmarked to be built next to the Burj Khalifa, it’ll form part of a new area called the Dubai Modern Art Museum and Opera House District.

• Five theme parks in the Jebel Ali area have been given the green light to go ahead, at a total cost of AED10bn. There will be parks based on both Hollywood and Bollywood, as well as a marine park, a children’s park and a night safari.

• An extension to the Dubai Mall is being developed, comprising a fashion avenue next to the existing mall.

• The Mohammed bin Rashid City megaproject will house the world’s largest shopping mall, more than 100 hotels and will also contain a Universal Studios theme park.

• An island project off the Jumeirah Beach Residence coastline was launched in February this year and will include the Dubai Eye, a 210-metre-high Ferris wheel (do I need to add that it’ll be the biggest in the world, or are we oblivious to superlatives now?). Bluewaters Island will also host retail, residential, hospitality and entertainment zones, and will be connected to the mainland by a monorail and cable car.

• A water canal project will connect Business Bay to the Gulf. In addition to crossing Sheikh Zayed Road, the waterway will cross Al-Wasl Road and Jumeira Beach Road before entering the sea.