Emaar recently announced that Burj 29 Boulevard, situated close to Burj Khalifa, will be delayed two years, while Claren One, also scheduled for completion in February 2010, will be delayed one year.

A lavish presentation witnessed by Dubai’s ruler and thousands of onlookers at the base of the tower said the building was 828 meters, or 2717 feet, tall.

Dubai is opening the tower in the midst of a deep financial crisis. Its oil rich neighbor Abu Dhabi has pumped billions of dollars in bailout funds into the emirate as it struggles to pay its debts.

Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the ruler of Abu Dhabi and serves as the president of the United Arab Emirates, the federation of seven small emirates, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Analysts have questioned what Dubai might need to offer in exchange for the financial support it has received from Abu Dhabi, which controls nearly all of the UAE’s oil wealth. Abu Dhabi provided direct and indirect injections totaling $25 billion last year as Dubai’s debt problems deepened.

Dubai’s hereditary ruler, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in recent months has increasingly underscored the close relationship between the two emirates. Sheik Mohammed serves as vice president and prime minister of the UAE federation.

Emaar, the developer of the newly opened tower, said it cost about $1.5 billion to build the tapering metal-and-glass spire billed as a “vertical city” of luxury apartments and offices. It boasts four swimming pools, a private library and a hotel designed by Giorgio Armani.

Emaar’s Alabbar said the landmark Burj is 90 percent sold in a mix of residential units, offices and other space, offering a counterpoint to Dubai’s financial woes.

The developer has only said the spire stands more than 2625 feet (800 meters) tall. Alabbar said Dubai’s ruler will announce the height at the inauguration ceremony.

At a reported height of 2,684 feet (818 meters), the Burj Dubai long ago vanquished its nearest rival, the Taipei 101 in Taiwan. But the tower’s record-seeking developers didn’t stop there. The building boasts the most stories and highest occupied floor of any building in the world, and ranks as the world’s tallest structure, beating out a television mast in North Dakota.

“We weren’t sure how high we could go,” said Bill Baker, the building’s structural engineer, who is in Dubai for the inauguration. “It was kind of an exploration … A learning experience”

Baker, of Chicago-based architecture and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, said early designs for the Burj had it edging out the world’s previous record-holder, the Taipei 101, by about 33 feet (10 meters). The Taiwan tower rises 1,667 feet (508 meters).

Work on Burj Dubai began in 2004 and moved ahead rapidly. At times, new floors were being added almost every three days, reflecting Dubai’s raging push to reshape itself into a cosmopolitan urban giant packed with skyscrapers.

During the busiest construction periods, some 12,000 workers labored at the tower each day, according to Emaar. Low-wage migrant workers from the Indian subcontinent provided much of the muscle for the Burj and many of Dubai’s other building projects.

The tower is more than 50 stories higher than Chicago’s Willis Tower, the tallest building in the U.S. formerly known as the Sears Tower.

At their peak, some apartments in the Burj were selling for more than $1,900 per square foot, though they now can go for less than half that, said Heather Wipperman Amiji, chief executive of Dubai real estate consultancy Investment Boutique.

She said some buyers may struggle to find tenants at going rates once the tower’s expected high service charges are factored in.

“The investment community is quite divided,” she said. “They’re not sure how it’s going to play out.”

The Burj is the centerpiece of a 500-acre development that officials hope will become a new central residential and commercial district in this sprawling and often disconnected city. It is flanked by dozens of smaller but brand-new skyscrapers and the Middle East’s largest shopping mall.

That layout — as the core of a lower-rise skyline — lets the Burj stand out prominently against the horizon. It is visible across dozens of miles of rolling sand dunes outside Dubai. From the air, the spire appears as an almost solitary, slender needle reaching high into the sky. An observation deck on the 124th floor opens to the public Tuesday, with adult tickets starting at 100 dirhams, or just over $27 apiece. The ride to the top took just over a minute during a visit for journalists early Monday morning.

Dubai landmarks like the sail-shaped Burj al-Arab hotel and the manmade Palm Jumeirah island were visible through the haze. The Burj itself cast a sundial-like shadow over low-rise houses and empty sand-covered lots stretching toward the azure Persian Gulf waters. And yes, Dubai is still open for business: there are gift shops at the base and the top.

AP

This shows that the overall average price level is now similar to the price level recorded at the beginning of Q2 2008. Colliers says the index will help investors benchmark investment values over a period of time.

Colliers’ analysis of the index results attributes a combination of tighter liquidity and negative sentiment as the key factors for the price drop. According to the report, Q4 2008 saw many lending institutions reduce their loan-to-value ratios available to mortgage seekers and adopt a more selective view towards applicants. International exchange rates also played a role, as the decline in the value of major currencies made Dirham denominated assets more expensive and discouraged some international investors. While negative sentiment, precipitated by the global economic crisis, the postponement of developments by large government-backed developers and concerns over job security further deterred potential property investors as they await signals that the market has bottomed.

Ian Albert, Colliers International Regional Director said:

“There is no escaping the fact that for the first time since the HPI was launched, overall average residential prices in Dubai have fallen. Investors accustomed to continual price rises will have to recognise this, as the global financial crisis impacts the region. Tighter liquidity, more selective lending and growing negative sentiment are all bringing about these changes. However, an overall average price fall of eight per cent for the fourth quarter is not as bad as everyone had feared. What established investors now need to consider is at what stage they entered the Dubai market because this will broadly determine whether the value of their investment has grown, declined or remained static.”

Albert continued: “The mass speculation of recent times clouded for many the reality that real estate is a long term, illiquid asset class. We are seeing the next stage in the property cycle, as speculators are driven out of the market and long term, end-user investors become the primary focus. The levels of growth previously seen were, frankly, unsustainable and in the shake-out we expect the weaker players to fall away, which will benefit the market over the long term.”

In what it says is a maturing market environment, Colliers emphasised a return to fundamentals, where developers that focus on the end-user by building high quality, well located and properly designed projects will outperform the rest of the market.

Albert also invited other financial institutions to become contributors to the HPI: “The House Price Index is the most comprehensive and accurate provider of market information available because we work closely with the leading mortgage lenders in the UAE, representing 60% of the market. We continually seek to strengthen the index by broadening our data base through the addition of other institutions.”

Key findings

• Quarterly overall average price decline of 8%
• Year-on-year overall average price growth of 59% between Q4 2007 and Q4 2008
• 45% drop in transaction volume in Q4 2008 compared to Q3 2008
• Apartments overall average price fall of 11% in Q4 2008 from Q3 2008
• Townhouses overall average price rise of 1% in Q4 2008 from Q3 2008
• Villas overall average price fall of 3% in Q4 2008 from Q3 2008
• Completed properties fell by an average 5% when the Burj Dubai Development was included in the index
• Uncompleted properties fell by an average 10.4% when the Burj Dubai development was included in the index
• Completed properties fell an average 1.6% when Burj Dubai Development was excluded from the index
• Uncompleted properties rose by an average 5.7% when Burj Dubai Development was excluded from the index

AME Info/Press release

AME Info

More than 4,000 participants representing over 100 nationalities took part in the competition, which was held from July 1 to September 15. Although the competition was open only to UAE residents, entries were received from all across the globe, further reflecting Dubai’s growing global significance.

Participants of the competition had to suggest a name that they believed captured the essence of the spectacular fountain. The winning name – Dubai Fountain – was chosen by a panel comprising senior management of Emaar, community leaders and project experts. The selection process was overlooked by a representative of Dubai Department of Economic Development.

‘Dubai Fountain’ was suggested by 15 participants, who will be contacted shortly. The total prize will be equally divided amongst the winners who have a valid UAE residency.

Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar Properties, said:

“By announcing a competition for naming the fountain on Burj Dubai Lake, we wanted to engage the residents of Dubai in creating a new landmark for the city. The response to the competition was overwhelming and demonstrated the spirit of solidarity among the UAE residents.”

He added: “The name Dubai Fountain is simple, has instant brand recall and above all, celebrates the global standing of Dubai as a multicultural destination and home to over 180 nationalities. Dubai Fountain is our tribute to this city, which serves as a platform for thousands of people to realise their dreams and enjoy a vibrant, modern lifestyle.” ‘Dubai Fountain’ also complements the other stellar attractions in close proximity – Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building, and The Dubai Mall, one of the world’s largest shopping and entertainment destinations.

Gallery

Facts

Billed to be of the world’s finest water features integrating musical and attractive visual elements, Dubai Fountain is over 900 ft (275 metres) in length – equivalent to that of over two football fields. Designed by California-based WET, a worldwide leader that specializes in the design of water features and also the designers of The Fountains at Bellagio in Las Vegas, Dubai Fountain will be about 25 per cent larger in area than The Fountain at Bellagio.

Powerful water nozzles shoot water sprays to heights of over 500 ft (150 metres) – equivalent to that of a 50-storey building. Over 6,600 lights and 50 colour projectors create a visual spectrum of over 1,000 different water expressions. Different combinations of water-forms perform to selected musical pieces – chosen from a range of classical to contemporary Arabic and world music.

Dubai Fountain forms the centerpiece of the 12 hectare Burj Dubai Lake and will be operational in 2009. Open for free viewing, the fountain adds to the leisure appeal of the AED 73 billion (US$20 billion) Downtown Burj Dubai development, a mixed-use project with homes, offices, hotels and a vibrant Boulevard.

WAM/MAB

NOBLES Properties has signed a strategic agreement with Rasmala, appointing the leading regional investment banking firm as issue manager and placement agent for 25 percent of the Waterfront and Burj Downtown Development Company.

NOBLES Properties will retain the other 75 percent. Mr. Omar Ayesh signed the agreement on behalf of NOBLES Properties, and the Deputy CEO of Rasmala, Mr. Tamer Bazzari, signed on behalf of the investment banking firm.

Speaking of the new company, Mr. Ayesh said,

“The Waterfront and Burj Downtown Development Company represents an excellent investment opportunity in two of the emirate’s most attractive locations – the Dubai Waterfront and Burj Dubai – both being well-situated along the planned Metro routes serving distinct commercial locations. We are confident that the partnership with Rasmala will ensure that the company will be well-structured and enable strategic co-investors to participate with NOBLES Properties in this very interesting venture. Once completed, we expect the two projects to offer high occupancy rates. We also anticipate attractive investment returns to our strategic co-investors.”

“We at Rasmala believe that the attractiveness of these two developments and the track record and experience of the Nobles Properties management team combine to present an excellent equity investment opportunity, and we look forward to being involved in the placement process for the Waterfront and Burj Downtown Development Company,” said Mr. Bazzari.

“Given the unique portfolio of projects Nobles has in the pipeline in key regional growth markets, we believe that Nobles can make a strong argument for a strategy that will succeed despite the current Global and Regional economic environment.” he added.

The establishment of the Waterfront and Burj Downtown Development Company in Dubai represents an important addition to the activities of Nobles Properties after its recent investments in two master planned communities in Libya and Yemen which have received significant interests from investors.

Arabian Business/Press release

The announcement came one day after Dubai developers Nakheel said it planned to build a tower which will stand more than one kilometre tall (3,280ft), beating the city’s own world record.
The mixed-use Jumeirah Gardens development will be “an integrated city within a city”, to be built over 12 years, Meraas Development said at the opening of Cityscape Dubai 2008, a four-day international real estate fair.

Dubai already boasts the world’s tallest building, the yet to be completed Burj Dubai tower, which reached a height of 688m (2,257ft) at the start of September and is still growing, according to developers Emaar.
It now boasts 160 storeys, the highest skyscraper in the world, Emaar said.

Jumeirah Gardens will stretch north of Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai’s main thoroughfare linking it to the emirate and UAE capital of Abu Dhabi, 150km to the south. Meraas Development said the project would comprise business, residential and leisure facilities linked by a transportation network and including some of the city’s biggest towers, and with a large canal running through the development. Construction of the first phase of the project has already begun, and the first buildings are due for handover in the fourth quarter of 2011, the company said.

The announcement came at the opening of the Cityscape exhibition, an annual feature on the property calendar of Dubai, which is in the midst of a construction frenzy. Some 1,500 firms from 150 countries are taking part in the event.

Nakheel CEO Chris O’Donnell told reporters on the sidelines of Cityscape that the skyscraper project announced on Sunday “will be over one kilometre and take 10 years to build”.
The tower, part of the Nakheel Harbour and Tower project, is expected to cost Dh140bn ($38bn), O’Donnell said. But Dubai has not been spared the turmoil on world markets. Dubai Financial Market dropped 7.6% yesterday to its lowest level in more than 18 months. The market has lost around 14% in the past two days, pulled down by the real estate sector. O’Donnell said Nakheel’s new project was likely to have a psychological effect on the real estate market but denied this was the reason behind the public launch.
“We’ve been working on the project for six years,” he said, adding that work on the foundations was already under way.

“The project is going to go through two or three economic cycles… when you’re running a business you can’t just stop at the middle of the downturn,” O’Donnell said.

“We believe in what we’re doing, (even though) it is an unfortunate time.”

Nakheel is behind some of Dubai’s most grandiose projects. It is building three palm tree-shaped artificial islands, as well as ‘The World’ — a cluster of some 300 islands looking like a blurred vision of the planet’s nations—off Dubai’s coast.

Scores of other ambitious ventures are under way or in the pipeline, including Dubailand, a series of billion-dollars entertainment and leisure projects touted as the Middle East’s very own Orlando. –AFP

Gulf Times

Holding company Dubai World president Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said the project would be “one of a kind”.

A whole town is to be built covering 270 hectares, forming a new Dubai and including “a tower which could reach one kilometre in height,” bin Sulayem was quoted as saying.

Bin Sulayem said the entire project would cost 140 billion UAE dirhams ($38.12bn).

The world’s tallest building, the yet to be completed Burj Dubai tower reached a height of 688 metres (2,257 feet) last month and is still growing, according to developers Emaar. It now boasts 160 storeys, the highest skyscraper in the world, Emaar said.

Nakheel, known for building palm-shaped islands off the coast of Dubai, has already started construction of the development, a project that will take about 10 years, chief executive Chris O’Donnell said.

O’Donnell said the project, which includes as many as 40 other towers and will house 55,000 people, would be developed in phases, depending on market conditions.

The developer, which already has about $60bn worth of projects, said it expected buyers in the emirate to focus more on schemes near water, transportation and landmark structures in the future.

Nakheel’s tower development, which will vie for the title of world’s tallest tower, will be financed through pre-sales and project finance.

O’Donnell said he was confident banks would lend to the developer as, in these times, lenders were looking for a “flight to quality”.

Last month, Nakheel launched a $1.2bn loan to finance general corporate activities, which was underwritten by Saudi Arabia’s Samba Financial Group, he said.

In February, chief financial officer Kar Tung Quek said the company needed about $5bn a year to fund projects through a mix of land, pre-sales and borrowing.

The firm had been aiming to raise 3bn dirhams ($817 million) of equity to finance housing and 5bn dirhams for infrastructure projects via an initial public offering of real estate investment trusts (REITs) this month, Quek said.

“Market conditions are adverse for any market currently … We are still preparing to launch REITs, but when the market conditions are right,” O’Donnell said.

Competition for the title of world’s tallest tower is heating up in the Gulf region as real estate developers benefit from a more than four-fold increase in oil prices.

Kingdom Holding Company, controlled by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, is planning to unveil the designs for a mile-high (1,609 metres) tower in Jeddah this month, according to the London-based Middle East Economic Digest.

Kuwait has said the Burj Mubarak in its City of Silk development will also be more than 1,000 metres high.

Gulf Daily News

Euromoney Liquid Real Estate Awards honour the world’s leading developers for their commitment to industry best practices in overall project management and strong investor relations and corporate governance practices, as reflected in the company’s financial fundamentals. Euromoney Liquid Real Estate is a publication focused on international real estate financial markets, and the winners are selected from a global poll amongst industry professionals.

Arif Amiri, Senior Director – Investor Relations and Corporate Governance, Emaar Properties, said:

“The Euromoney Liquid Real Estate Awards are a reiteration of Emaar’s thought-leader position in the real estate sector of the MENA region. Emaar is recognised as the pioneer of master-planned communities, and leveraging on the strength of forward-looking government policies, continues to explore growth options in developed and emerging markets.”

He added: “The driving force in Emaar’s global expansion has been a sustained focus on maximising value for our stakeholders through best practices in investor relations and corporate governance. As we go global, it is imperative that we inculcate international standards that enhance investor trust and build the basis for a fundamentally strong company. The Euromoney Liquid Real Estate Awards are recognitions from the real estate industry peers for the financial and developmental track-record we have built for the company.”

Introducing the concept of master-planned communities in Dubai with path-breaking projects such as Emirates Living, Dubai Marina, Arabian Ranches and Downtown Burj Dubai, Emaar expanded geographically and into new businesses such as education, healthcare, financial services, shopping malls and hospitality ‘&’ leisure. This was in line with its Vision 2010 to become one of the most valuable companies in the world.

Today, Emaar has a strong portfolio of projects in 36 markets globally, with a development value for the international projects alone over AED 367 billion (AED 100 billion). Emaar has set industry benchmarks with project such as Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building; The Dubai Mall, one of the world’s largest shopping and entertainment destinations; and King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi Arabia, the single largest private sector project in the Middle East region. Emaar has unveiled integrated communities in Egypt, Morocco, Libya, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Canada and the US.

Emaar’s projects energise local economies by creating new job opportunities and supporting ancillary industries. The company’s development ethos is to create full-fledged communities that offer a spectrum of lifestyle amenities in integrated mixed-use neighbourhoods.

WAM/MMYS

Three designs have been drawn up for the planned Jumeirah Garden City project, with the most breathtaking being a 2.4km-high edifice called the Dubai City Tower.

Renderings of the Dubai City Tower show six separate buildings twisting into a single structure dubbed a “vertical city”, capped by a 400-metre “energy-producing spire”.
“The Dubai City Tower pushes every edge of building design,” says the design proposal, which is circulating on the internet.

“For centuries man has pushed construction toward the heavens. The sheer scale of this project will focus the world’s eye towards the city of Dubai, but it will be the tower’s design and image that will preserve Dubai City Tower’s grandeur into the future.”

Meraas, the property developer and private equity fund of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is behind the project, according to a consultant for the company and a developer familiar with the plans.
The Dubai City Tower would dwarf the Burj Dubai, which reached 688 metres earlier this month. Emaar, the developer of the Burj Dubai, has kept the final height secret in part to prevent other developers from announcing taller projects.

The design prospectus for the Dubai City Tower, which does not list its developer or architect, shows the tower looming over the waterfront, near a marina.

It would have 400 storeys with each set of 100 storeys forming a “neighbourhood” and a Sky Plaza operating as a “town centre”. A vertical bullet train would ferry people from one “neighbourhood” to another.
The building would be fitted with solar panels and wind turbines, and biospheres that double as recreational parks and water purification centres.

Carol Willis, the director of the Skyscraper Museum in New York and a professor of urban studies at Columbia University, said the project appeared “buildable in technical terms” but economically difficult to justify.

Alastair Collins, of the international Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, said that height was the easy part with skyscrapers.
“The hardest part is the servicing of the height: the transportation, power, water and waste disposal,” he said, adding that such a tower would also produce swarms of traffic.

Another of the plans for the Jumeirah Garden City project includes designs for a building called the Atrium City Towers, which would incorporate three tall towers and was designed by architects Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill. Mr Smith also designed the Burj Dubai.
A spokesman for Meraas declined to comment on the designs, but said the company would reveal its plans at Cityscape Dubai on Oct 6. An advertisement for Meraas on the Cityscape website hints at a design similar to the Atrium project.

“They are seeking to create a standout building in that location, which is otherwise going to be really low-level,” the consultant said. “It will have the best quality hotels and commercial space in the heart of what is going to be a predominantly residential area with gardens.”

Meraas was created in 2007 and gained attention this year when it joined a coalition of investors that financed Boston Properties’ purchase of the General Motors building in New York for US$2.8 billion (Dh10.28bn). It was the most expensive office building sale in American history.

Jumeirah Garden City will be located in two districts, Satwa and Al Wasl, that are being razed to make way for the new development. The project includes a canal system and several iconic buildings.
“Sheikh Mohammed likes competition,” a consultant familiar with the company said. “He wants to add another layer to the other government-backed developers to challenge Sama, DP World and Nakheel.”

The company has also been hiring veterans in the Dubai market, including Binod Shankar, the former chief financial officer of Dubai Waterfront Corporation; Rashid Doleh, the former chief executive of Emaar Malls Group; and Vivek Rao, the former head of finance at Tamweel.
A mile-high tower is planned by Kingdom Holdings for Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait also has a 1km tower in the works. Nakheel, another Dubai developer, is expected to announce a tower to rise higher than 1km in Al Burj, according to published reports.

The National