Found this one on Dailymotion. Sums most of the projects.

http://www.dailymotion.com/search/dubai/video/xtaz8_dubailand

Found this one on Dailymotion. Sums most of the projects.

http://www.dailymotion.com/search/dubai/video/xtaz8_dubailand

This is just stupid. When half of the world's population lives in poverty and is starving, such a waste of money is absolutely ridiculous, and whoever came up with this thing, should be ashamed of himself.

I dont know if they should be ashamed because some people in the world live in poverty. i just think the whole concept is to put it bluntly "retarded".

:ohno: American Jealousy?

Dubailand is a tourism and entertainment complex being built in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It will contain 45 mega projects that are divided into five themed zones and is expected to be completed between 2015 and 2018. oooo !!!

Holy crap! How the hell can they do all of this? Where will all the people come from to fill this massive park?

And real dinosaurs, wtf?
They would need some superfast transport to get around this park.
But when its done, I will go there in a heartbeat.

cool video

was that the theme music to Jurassic Park? wow
i really dont know what to say

I don't have much to say about the project, but the video was really strange. The cheesy voiceover basically reminded me of all the movies pretending to be from the future.

holy crap, so are they going to break Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster's 450 ft and 420 ft drop heights on roller coasters now? O.o make a coaster with a 'classified' top speed and height?

wowowowowow

sorry but.. AL BAWADI is not included?

and I'm curious about how they make real dinosaurs,too :)

ahhh..can anyone tell me the name of the song or where to find the song which starts playing at the mall of arabia part?! it's driving me crazy...

and yeah, about the video, looks like a pretty cool place, but it is trying to become something it is not.
how much is it all gonna cost? 100billiion?

This is just stupid. When half of the world's population lives in poverty and is starving, such a waste of money is absolutely ridiculous, and whoever came up with this thing, should be ashamed of himself.

hypocrisy :weird:

Ahem, dinosaurs? :dunno:

surely the dinusaurios will be mechanics, will be robots. And Proud_Melburnian you are right. But it is not because of this the problem. it is so that the rich countries have to be less egoistic and to destine good amount of money to eradicate the hunger and to avoid the wars. it is not possible to be let construct so that there is hunger. They are different things. this is an amusement park that will serve to guarantee the stability of the Emirates when it is not left petroleum, and that not this badly

I want to clarify that my English is bad

hello the dinosurse will be animatronic they have laser in there eyes to interact with the people that are around them

hello the dinosurse will be animatronic they have laser in there eyes to interact with the people that are around them




WORD! :colgate:

surely the dinusaurios will be mechanics, will be robots. And Proud_Melburnian you are right. But it is not because of this the problem. it is so that the rich countries have to be less egoistic and to destine good amount of money to eradicate the hunger and to avoid the wars. it is not possible to be let construct so that there is hunger. They are different things. this is an amusement park that will serve to guarantee the stability of the Emirates when it is not left petroleum, and that not this badly

yeah, i wasn't saying that they shouldn't be building this..i think it is good..i was jsut wondering how much it will cost in the end total...cuz that is one hell of a lot of infrastructre

ok I have understood to you

gracias amigo..como estas bebe?! :D
just kidding

Dubailand will win Disneyland but never be equal to it....

Disneyland on growth hormoins, i'll go just to ride the rollercoaster, but how are they going to make a profit on this? Too much compotion, you would have to stay for 2 months to go to all the parks.

:ohno: American Jealousy?

First, i'm not american

Secondly, did u read my comment, or did you miss it?

I don't want to sound rude, but you're showing the dumb side of you, i hope it's NOT the only side of you...

sorry but.. AL BAWADI is not included?

and I'm curious about how they make real dinosaurs,too :)

Don't worry dude... real dinasaurs aren't a problem... Oil pays for all... it's not like they have to make them all by themselves, just hire some smart people for other places :) lol

hypocrisy :weird:

Are you pretending to be an idiot or are you for real?

I think the video is quite old as they have not included Bawadi and the City of Arabia looks very weired too... maybe 2000-2002 when it was made...

http://www.dubailand.ae/

look this page

what company develops this project?

^^ Dubai Holding but most of the project done by individual developers.

As for Dubai doing a better job if it donated the money what about the $800 billion used to kill people in Iraq and Afghanistan? At least Dubai is developing a nation with this money unlike others. Beside UAE with GCC countries are the biggest donater in the world. We dont speek about it like others do.

wtf....u ppl need to fucking stop with the american bashing....most of the ppl criticizing this dumb as hell project aren't even american yet the first comment out of the supporters is a comment about americans, go screw urselves u retards, and i dont undertsand what the war has to do with dubai building a tacky resort

hello the dinosurse will be animatronic they have laser in there eyes to interact with the people that are around them
Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads!1!
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/1447/800pxdrevil51bce57yy1.jpg

Is there demand for all stuff Dubai building right now?

Hehe, just a quest, no flame me:ohno:

Just phenominal. To be honest Dubai is what the 21st century needs. London, New York and now Dubai. Taking each era to the next level.

Dino World looks fantastic ;)

wtf....u ppl need to fucking stop with the american bashing....most of the ppl criticizing this dumb as hell project aren't even american yet the first comment out of the supporters is a comment about americans, go screw urselves u retards, and i dont undertsand what the war has to do with dubai building a tacky resort

:nuts: :lol: :nuts: :lol:

so much crap unbelievable but it's still only a desert

London, New York and now Dubai.

No. Maybe in 100 years but not now. Just because there are a few buildings being built doesn't make you the biggest city in the world.

Are you pretending to be an idiot or are you for real?

I have to agree with him. You are being hypocritical considering many other countries, maybe including yours, are spending and wasting millions of dollars on something that isn't helping those who are starving around the world.

This project will be enormous. 2 billion square feet? Wouldn't that be like 71.74012855831037 square miles large? (yes I used a conversion site for this). Thats more than one and a half times the size of my city. O_O

Wont the smaller places, loose out to the bigger ones because they are so many so close together, in the end there will probaly be at most 10 big ones.

You Dubai people are just crazy!!!! :eek2: :applause: :applause: :applause: :eek: :eek: :eek: :rock: :rock: :rock: :banana2: :righton: :righton: :omg: :omg: :omg: :drunk: :drunk: :cool: :cool: :okay: :okay:

This is just stupid. When half of the world's population lives in poverty and is starving, such a waste of money is absolutely ridiculous, and whoever came up with this thing, should be ashamed of himself.

For the most part I agree with your comments, yet that is not to say being wealthy is wrong. It's what people do or don't do with wealth is where the problem arises.

I cant believe that it will be twice the size of all the Disneyland/world resorts put together.

No. Maybe in 100 years but not now. Just because there are a few buildings being built doesn't make you the biggest city in the world.


I was'nt talking about being the next biggest or most powerful city in the world, I was talking about taking that next step in producing a world class city. London developed heavily, so did New York now Dubai has taken over that mantle of building for power. You need a stable economy to become a powerhouse. Dubai however has an idea and is setting the benchmark for future developments. UAE will never reach the heights of countries like the US or UK but each future project helps make thier cities world class. Las Vegas did it. Now its Dubai's turn yet in a shorter and more rushed timeframe. Within 20 years, Dubai will be respected amongst the likes of Tokyo, Paris, London, New York but with less financial benefits and more fun. You cant ridcule the UAE for producing what will become earths biggest play pen.

Pride pride ego ego goes around............

I cant believe that it will be twice the size of all the Disneyland/world resorts put together.

For some reason, Dubailand will never get to offer what Disney offering. Disney is a legend and Dubailand, just a project:nuts:

For some reason, Dubailand will never get to offer what Disney offering. Disney is a legend and Dubailand, just a project:nuts:

Envy I see. I think this project is awesome, and for whomever said that there is world hunger and Dubai is spending money on this project, is NASA wouldn't exist, and all the money spent in NASA would be given to the world there would be NO World Hunger. So if it was an American who said it, think again, I'm American but I'll go against my country mainly because sometimes we're just dumb. Keep building Dubai keep building because you all will become THE city to go to in a near future, maybe about 20-25 years from now. I'll be part of your cities' tourism.

People can spend there money however they want. Giving money to the poor is not gonna help them you would have to give them lessons on investing and creating money and give them some money and tell them we tought you this stuff go on and teach another person what you have learned. It's like two people one wins 100,000 the other gets 40,000 everyyear for the rest of his life who is getting a better deal once the guy spends his 100,000 there is nothing left for him but the other guy is set for life. All the people who say it's not gonna be as great a disney world are jelous.

I think this video is awsome, and I like the project too. By the way, does someone know the titles of the songs that was in the video as soundtracks, please post it.

I don't understand a lot of this project though. The video went into very little detail. The sports world for example.....it shows a baseball field...then they say "see real stars play" where are they going to get sport stars for all the major sports? lol

The place seems really cool, I would go. But they need to do a better job of explaining things....they made everything sound so unreal.

About spending all that money....they can do what they want with it!

This is just stupid. When half of the world's population lives in poverty and is starving, such a waste of money is absolutely ridiculous, and whoever came up with this thing, should be ashamed of himself.

Trade and developement is a good way to stimulate economy. Better than just giving money to countries from where the money will go mostly straight back to the west for debtpayback. These companies who are building in Dubailand also invest in undeveloped/developing countries.


TarheelsCubs:

I dont think it was that throughly planned when the video, or compilation of videos was made. Many, if not most of the projects have not started construction yet.

lol...they showed some afl in the sports section:D

Please!!! Do someone know which are the titles of the songs of the video?
Don't bab with me. Tell us which is the tracklist of this fantastic video.

yeah i want to know what the song is when the mall of arabia section starts..i thought it was off a beautiful mind..but had no success there....i want to know what song it is......:(
lol, cheers

yeah i want to know what the song is when the mall of arabia section starts..i thought it was off a beautiful mind..but had no success there....i want to know what song it is......:(
lol, cheers

Thank you, for supporting my idea of the Tracklist of this video.

hehe....well i don't think anyone knows what it is, bummer......

I don't understand a lot of this project though. The video went into very little detail. The sports world for example.....it shows a baseball field...then they say "see real stars play" where are they going to get sport stars for all the major sports? lol


You are absolutly right. I hate this kind of advertisment too! However, this video is very old. It is an early video released at the the early stage after lunching the Dubailand project to attract investors.

It was a good illustration though.

:ohno: American Jealousy?
Jealous of what? None of this is exactly destined to work out. It's all hotels and residencies and now an amusement park. Lol 1200 foot hotels and 300 foot office towers. Things are a bit backwards. Whatever though you can go ahead and consider that jealousy but we created the skyscraper and the first Supertalls( Since 1931). We're still pumping them out and we will be pumping them out long after your ubber rich stop wasteing their "hard earned" money for you guys to brag about your weak looking disneyland . Can ya touch that? No way in hell.

About 80% of what is in that video is taken from American Theme parks, mostly Disney World and Sea World. =x

Geez guys stop bashing on the people of Dubai. It is a good project. Yes it's not disneyland yet....because there is no competiton to against Disney. And for the poor thing, yes there are millions of poor peolple in the world but this is a developing country that is doing it to secure financial status so that it's people won't also be poor. (Oil in that nation is running low, time to switch to tourism) And since when has any rich nation spent their hard earned money on just the poor and not grand beautiful buildings. End of Story!!!!!!!

Just as a side note the first skyscraper was built on 1885 not 1931 and it was in Chicago.

This entire project reeks of Euro Disney and HK Disney, except 10x bigger. I honestly don't see how this will make money. But if Dubai wants to do something so ridiculous go for it haha.

Geez guys stop bashing on the people of Dubai. It is a good project. Yes it's not disneyland yet....because there is no competiton to against Disney. And for the poor thing, yes there are millions of poor peolple in the world but this is a developing country that is doing it to secure financial status so that it's people won't also be poor. (Oil in that nation is running low, time to switch to tourism) And since when has any rich nation spent their hard earned money on just the poor and not grand beautiful buildings. End of Story!!!!!!!

Just as a side note the first skyscraper was built on 1885 not 1931 and it was in Chicago.

I'm agree with you, Dubai is trying to create another way to earn money because the black gold won't last forever.

Jealous of what? None of this is exactly destined to work out. It's all hotels and residencies and now an amusement park. Lol 1200 foot hotels and 300 foot office towers. Things are a bit backwards. Whatever though you can go ahead and consider that jealousy but we created the skyscraper and the first Supertalls( Since 1931). We're still pumping them out and we will be pumping them out long after your ubber rich stop wasteing their "hard earned" money for you guys to brag about your weak looking disneyland . Can ya touch that? No way in hell.

:nuts:girl

Jealous of what? None of this is exactly destined to work out. It's all hotels and residencies and now an amusement park. Lol 1200 foot hotels and 300 foot office towers. Things are a bit backwards. Whatever though you can go ahead and consider that jealousy but we created the skyscraper and the first Supertalls( Since 1931). We're still pumping them out and we will be pumping them out long after your ubber rich stop wasteing their "hard earned" money for you guys to brag about your weak looking disneyland . Can ya touch that? No way in hell.

yup she is jealous:nuts:

i thought dubai make money through their seaport
its abu dhabi that makes money from oil

thats wat i heard

This video and the whole project is the most ridiculous thing i had ever seen.
the park would have to open day and night to get enough money.
I understand prikhod's opinion completely.
People dying in the third world because they are to poor to buy food or medicine.
I know that many other cities have theme parks for example hongkongs disneyland. but THIS has nothing more to do with entertainment.
In the end they need hundreds of millions of visitors to make such a project profitably. And ( not to make any dubai-lover angry ) Dubai is to far away from europe and america so that a trip only for a park would be very expensive

what complete waste of money

:nuts:girl

Allow me to express myself through smilies:

:doh: :hug: :2cents: :2cents: :2cents: :drunk:

Translation: DOH! I still wuv you... God bless my 2 cents., lets forget about our differences and get a drink.

Allow me to express myself through smilies:
:lol: :nono: :2cents: :2cents: :2cents: :fiddle: :blahblah: :rock: :toilet: :goodbye:

Translation: Ha Ha Ha, that's just my humble opinion ( that is obviously shared), you don't like it? Boohoo, I'm still gonna say what I want basically. Rock on Khanbhai but if ya don't like it here is some toilet paper. Payce!

yup she is jealous:nuts:

I would agree that the money could be better spent in other ways, but then again, so could the $30 billion the US government blows on pork projects every year.
http://porkbusters.org/
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2006-06-11-nasa-pork_x.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork_barrel
http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reports_pigbook2006

I bet you could build 2 Dubai-lands per year with that money!

Still, I'm sure it will work out in the long term. The hypocritical Americans will disappear because of their expanding waistlines and ever growing debt. The over-eager Chinese will be tamed when their pollution starts doing them in. Likewise, the building obsessed UAE will relax when their buildings are finished.

In the end, foolishness destroys itself, leaving the successful and good to reign supreme, imho.

Huge project! It's all business. Every country has the right to business enterprise. No matter how many mega projects Dubai will come up with, just be sure those don't turn around the table and come back to haunt the capital and Dubai's residents. Otherwise, everything looks seemingly prosperous and amazing.

Go Dubai!!!

Oh come on....its absurd to think this place is the main reason to visit dubai? its pretty shallow isnt it? a theme park ? oh well let them waste all this money. Its going to be fun walking around a theme park in 45 degrees heat watching mechanical dinosaurs and dumb representations of iconic buildings ..nothing better!

D-ubai-sneyland above the cynicalism of the city of architecture.

Until now, nobody has any idea of the tittle of the songs of this great video, and I'm asking again: Does someone knows the tittles of the songs?, please post it.

Found this one on Dailymotion. Sums most of the projects.

http://www.dailymotion.com/search/dubai/video/xtaz8_dubailand

oh la la! :eek2:

this is nuts.....in a postive way.

http://www.condohotelcenter.com/images/dubailand-arial.jpg
http://www.condohotelcenter.com/images/dubai-sports-city-arena.jpg
http://www.travelizmo.com/archives/Dubailand.JPG
http://realestate.theemiratesnetwork.com/developments/dubai/images/dubailand/dubailand.jpg
http://www.funonthenet.in/images/stories/forwards/dubai%20projects/Dubailand%20Ski%20Dome.jpg
http://www.eldesoky.net/gallery/albums/DubaiLand/dubai1.jpg
http://www.skidubai.com/skidubai/dubai/project-sports-city-dubailand.jpg
http://admin.realcomm.com/filecabinet/Image/000000/dubai_dubailand5.jpg
http://img415.imageshack.us/img415/5316/dubailand6pg.jpg
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/969/dscn35061jm.jpg
http://www.dubaiholidayspecialists.com/images/dubai_sports_city.jpg
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/9852/arabiacity81yr.jpg
http://www.agsproperties.com/images/dsc.jpg
http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/8042/insectworld3cl.jpg
http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/866/butterflyworld2fv.jpg
http://i2.tinypic.com/x3bo5f.jpg
http://img414.imageshack.us/img414/592/legendsdubai8bh.jpg
http://i2.tinypic.com/x3bod1.jpg
http://static.blogo.it/travelblog/bawadi_tatweer_dubai_060502_0433.jpg
http://www.propertywealthy.com/PwAdmin/upload/legends%20-%20main%20image.jpg
http://www.hotelindubai.com/real-estate/snow-dome/snow-dome-dubailand.jpg
http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/1316/h0067au.jpg






No casinos????:lol:

don't get me wrong this is am amazing project and will be great when complete, but . . . . its all just a big FAKE world. i'd rather go and see real snow than ski in a frezer, i'd rather go north and see the real rainforests than go see some contained in a big room (we have an indoor rainforest in adelaide australia, which i think is the biggest in the sountern hemesphere and i would rather see the real thing), i would rather visit real landmarks and cities than walk around in these small copies(although it would be a good experience), who will accually fill these tall towers that are being built dubai, who will fill these huge stadiums and resorts? (those are real questions, i can't think how they will be filled)

things i think are interesting is stuff like the space part and the dinosaurs thing . . . . amazing !!!

I hope it all works out, the other thing a thought was great to see was all of the different cultures of the world having fun together and the acceptance of western world culture in this city is fantastic this is the atitude that the rest of that part of the world needs to obtain peace. :)

Thank You
All the best


------------------PEACE-----------------------

WHAT THE HELL is that?
http://img415.imageshack.us/img415/5316/dubailand6pg.jpg
http://i2.tinypic.com/x3bod1.jpg
Do they plan to compete with Las Vegas?
I wonder who is going to spend vacations in this part of the world though.

8m people do it every year in Dubai.

Nice pictures, but I'm still asking for the tracklist of the video.

this photo its really cool:)

http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/1316/h0067au.jpg

The part I dont get is, 1. aren't the stadiums going to be empty most of the time? 2 How do you filll all those hotels? 3 Will they plan some sort of rail system? yikes with the traffic.

The part I dont get is, 1. aren't the stadiums going to be empty most of the time? 2 How do you filll all those hotels? 3 Will they plan some sort of rail system? yikes with the traffic.

well, so far what i've seen is a huge network of perimeter highways and highways that go right through it.

^^ and the world's biggest metro system with around 10 tram and monorail systems within the single masterplanned projects.

Filling the hotels shouldn't be a problem when u consider the incredible high prices in Dubai at the moment (2nd in the world) with an occupancy of more than 90% nevertheless (1st in the world)

What events in the stadium.. well the ICC moves its HQ here... ManU is going to have a football school.. not sure what else is going to take place in Sports City.

Enough with all the models and renderings! Let's see some actual construction progress out there!

Dubai ain't got the 'world's biggest metro system'! It only has 10 metro lines and a monorail line! Greater Tokyo has 136 of railway lines of all types (monorail, heavy-rail, light-rail, tramway, people mover line, commuter 'Bullet' train lines).

What exactly do you mean when you say that Dubai has the second highest prices? :?

^^ 2nd highest average hotel prices.


the metro is red Line: 50 kilometers, Green Line 20km, Blue Line 47 km and purple line is 49 km
while the latter two are still under design and an extension.

it will be the longest driverless fully automated metro system in the world.

the monorails for all the single projects come in addition to that, as well as the Tram.

Re: Dubai has the second highest average hotel prices
Oh...I see. :yes: :cheers:

Re: Dubai's metro-system will be complemented by the monorail systems of individual projects plus the tramway so that it will be a pretty large system.
Well, yeah, the addition of monorail systems of several single projects will significantly increase Dubai's urban railway network. But, again, it is out of context to claim that it'll be the largest in the world. Remember, Dubai is an auto-centric city as opposed to the rail-centric cities like London and Tokyo.
Tokyo has over 2,300 kilometers of urban railways (And, that's just the 2004 statictics. There are several railway lines beng extended or, even, brand-new lines added into the network every year).

*************************************************************

Anyway, Dubai's metro development is a very positive and long-forsighted move coming from the Dubai government for the improvement of Dubai's overall transportation inrastructure network

http://www.superherohype.com/news.php?id=5370

wow, i guess

i don't know whether or not this will be connected to dubailand or will be a completely unrelated project.
Enjoy

A marvel superhero theme park would be a good idea but just curious if Marvel comics or it's characters are popular to it's city's youths.

18/October/2007

Dubailand mixed pics

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/3876/imresolt140fu2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/9207/imresolt141hg8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/5186/imresolt136ua7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/6494/imresolt137tk9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/9254/imresolt138vh5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/2424/imresolt139ys9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Is the first picture in the last post a render or a real time shot?

:dunno:

that is the sales center

Oh okay, thanks for the clarification!

Shouldn't the first post be remade so that it actually says something informative about the project? The video is great, but in the years that have past the project has developed in quite a different manner so it need a solid update...

PS! The poor discussion; there's a saying that says that the best thing you can do for the poor and downtrodden is not to be one of them. Dubai is a center where over a million people from around the world has come to pursue a better life. It is the epicentre of escaping poverty and will be a shining example for other developing countries to follow.

This Eiffel tower looks so tacky. Every provincial amusement park in Europe got either an Eiffel Tower or Statue of Liberty. Honestly.

20/January/2008

TDIM 2008

Dubailand , mixed pics


http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/2279/imresolt085tw2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/4459/imresolt089ch2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/8199/imresolt094fr6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/497/imresolt097el7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/1268/imresolt095sm1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/5117/imresolt101ud7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/9685/imresolt104hi0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/6343/imresolt105qm9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

20/January/2008

TDIM 2008

Falcon City

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/3636/imresolt110tj1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/2700/imresolt111xl9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/2336/imresolt115qp2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/1251/imresolt112li5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I hope the amusement park areas are somewhat coherent, and that wont need a car to get around. It seems pretty fragmented in the models and redners. I know there will be more to it than an amusement park, but still, it wouldnt be an amusmeent park if you could walk around in it would it? :)

^if it is all connected by monorails etc then it wouldnt be a huge problem, as long as there isn't massive gaps it will be fine.

In terms of the rollercoasters, i've been waiting for dubai to announce the worlds bigggest or fastest rollercoaster, has this happened yet?

This looks like an ecological and possibly an investment disaster in the making.

It seems as if Dubai is trying to either outdo or get up to the same level as the rest of the world.

Does any one know how much commission UAE property developers are paying there sales staff? Or if you know where I can find this info?

a Vegas in Dubai....not bad :)

It seems as if Dubai is trying to either outdo or get up to the same level as the rest of the world.

:ohno:Actually they are not playing catch up. In fact, Dubai is trying to get ahead of the world by setting new standards, breaking the limits of technology and aiming to be the best city in the world.

This looks like an ecological and possibly an investment disaster in the making.

Have you seen pictures of the site?

There's nothing but sand for miles.

After this development is completed there will be thousands of trees where there were none before.

I'd say its an ecological miracle in the making.

Have you seen pictures of the site?

There's nothing but sand for miles.

After this development is completed there will be thousands of trees where there were none before.

I'd say its an ecological miracle in the making.

Agreed, besides it looking much better.

The UAE has helped save a lot of the arabian flora and fauna, like the arabian leopard, oryx and more. They are not ignorant when it comes to the natural resources of the land.

I see they used footage of the MCG in Melbourne and Aussie Rules for their sport section - not sure if we'll end up seeing that!

This looks like an ecological and possibly an investment disaster in the making.

It’s so ugly and ridiculous I really don't understand the need for it? Dubai really should not base its economy on a ridiculously themed place and rather create its own identity, Which in some way it already has. Building a fake Eiffel Tower plus all the other ' copies' of monuments will not make people flock to Dubai because there is naff version of a beautiful building there. Whoever thinks this will be a success is somewhat deluded. I hope it fails because it is an environmentally backwards development and shows the immaturity of the country of Dubai if it thinks theme parks are the only reason people want to go there.

It's an ecological disaster because of all the thousands of gallons of water that is requiired to keep the fauna alive. Consider the amount of energy is required to create this. Also, deserts are actually full of wildlife and plants, go out to any desert near Dubai and you will realise how alive it actually is. Sand does not equate to a lifeless environment.

Thank you Monkey9000. As a resident of a desert (Sonoran Desert) I have great respect for all deserts of the world. I hate it when people say that Dubai is smart to develop over the sand dunes to "remove that empty, ugly area." People need to see that the desert near Dubai is an extremely beautiful area.

I feel that the development is harming the area around the city, and I hope Dubai will expand the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve (http://www.ddcr.org/) to preserve this great asset. Hopefully Sheikh Mohammed will realize this before the development completely covers the desert and destroys something that they will never be able to bring back.

The only reason why I think this project is fantastic, is because I cant wait for all the dystopian, run-down Dubai pics i'm gonna be taking in 2030.

I mean seriously, a fake Eiffel-tower? Coupled with replicas of all the worlds most famous monuments? It's like building a museum with nothing but photographs of famous works of art and expect people to pay massive sums to visit.

Another good point is, since Dubai has decided to base its economy on tourism, how many people flock to visit architecture, areas or cities built in the 60's and 70's? Anything built in the period is usually written off as ugly, at least for the time being. In 30 years, people will most likely view Dubai in the same way. A tacky, horrible, plastic, ugly, fake place. Unless, of course, they manage to spend equally massive sums each year upgrading the entire place as they have building it.

Of course, I'm mainly talking about Dubailand and certain other places, but if this trend countues and other developers choose to follow the same path, it might turn out to be true for most of Dubai.

its strangely cool..and weird...the project

But maybe they should have picked a better name for it.

In fairness, only about 1/10th of the stuff in dubailand will be built. The whole thing is completely disorganised. Instead of the massive entertainment complex it was supposed to be, it has now become an excuse for developers to build sprawling developments in the desert.
A lot of you say, an ecological disaster, etc, but hardly any of it will see the light of day I think.

Thank you Monkey9000. As a resident of a desert (Sonoran Desert) I have great respect for all deserts of the world. I hate it when people say that Dubai is smart to develop over the sand dunes to "remove that empty, ugly area." People need to see that the desert near Dubai is an extremely beautiful area.

I feel that the development is harming the area around the city, and I hope Dubai will expand the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve (http://www.ddcr.org/) to preserve this great asset. Hopefully Sheikh Mohammed will realize this before the development completely covers the desert and destroys something that they will never be able to bring back.
When people hear the word desert they imagine something like this, because that's the image they have been seeing on TV since their childhood.
http://www.elenatour.uz/photo/uzb/images/Uzbekistan.%20Desert%20Kizil%20Kum.%20%20Dune.jpg

Forestation is an important activity, especially given the high rate of desertification and deforestation in the world. However, this project will require enormous amounts of water, energy and will create a lot of pollution and waste.

oh my GOD!!! are the serious?! :applause:

I think Dubailand is going to be a big financial loss. It is too big for the population (tourists included). All the hyped attractions, if built, will never make money. The government is literally giving away the land for free in return for these developers to come up with the scheme and deliver the construction of the attraction. Yes, Dubai will attract 15m tourists by 2020.....but Paris is already receiving around 40m+ tourists a year and Disneyland Paris is still struggling to make money.

This is basically America/Hollywood for the Middle East. I bet it will actually take away tourism from America. Six Flags, Dreamworks (what do you think the themes of the kids world and amusement park will be), the entire movie complex, film world, NASA (space world), the aviation world, dinosaur world (I wonder where they got that idea...).

Why were most of the people in that video white?

I call plagiarism from John Williams.

The space hotel looks sweet.

btw, actually going to universal studios in Hollywood would be sooooo much better than going to film world.

Simply the sheer size of this thing is astounding

Problem is, its really really tacky. Add the whole Bawadi complex, and all the other projects in Dubai, and consider where they are going to find the people to even keep these places financially afloat? Its all very very interesting

The development looks cool, but Dubai is going to need 100 million visitors a year for all of these projects to be successful - there just isn't enough of a local population to support all of them.

I see they used footage of the MCG in Melbourne and Aussie Rules for their sport section - not sure if we'll end up seeing that!

Actually the AFL played a pre-season game in Dubai!

Well, tourism and theme-parks never made a city great and world-class, so I hope Dubai has another trick up its sleeve besides real-estate. If only Emiratis could use their bachelors degrees to innovate and come up with new technology, rather than to take up a lazy civil service job or a real estate position - then perhaps Dubai will have a chance of gaining the respect of the real financial powerhouses of the world (of course, if it democratizes itself). Tourism can't sustain high standards of living, only innovation can, but Dubai will need to import that from elsewhere because its own subjects don't innovate. This sort of stuff is impressive, but not worthy of respect. You risk becoming the epitome of Florida-style tackiness in the Middle East if this sort of silly stuff is built.

^^ I couldn't agree more. :yes:

Dubailand Sales Center

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Emaar Falls 10% on Merger Announcement --- Pact With Three Government-Owned Firms Raises Investor Doubts About Benefits
29 June 2009
The Wall Street Journal

DUBAI -- Investors sent shares of Emaar Properties PJSC tumbling Sunday amid anger over the Dubai company's surprise announcement that it would merge with three struggling government-owned real-estate companies.

Shares in Emaar dropped 10% in Dubai, the sharpest decline since Nov. 18, as investors questioned whether the developer will benefit from the deal that would create an entity with a vast land bank and 13.4 billion U.A.E. dirhams ($3.65 billion) of debt.

"Investors are nervous," said Imam El Nour from Asayel Sales & Bonds, an Abu Dhabi-based brokerage firm.

Emaar, the Middle East's largest developer, plans to merge with Dubai Properties LLC, Sama Dubai LLC and Tatweer LLC, units of Dubai Holding LLC, the conglomerate controlled by Dubai's ruler, the companies said in a joint statement Friday.

Emaar Chairman Mohamed Alabbar said the proposed consolidation "will create a robust and strategic asset base, while joining the strengths of the management teams and employees of these three companies."

But the merger, while good for crimping the supply of property to Dubai's struggling real-estate market and cutting costs, creates little value for shareholders, analysts say.

"Minority shareholders run the risk of having the current portfolio of assets diluted by large tracts of probably now-uneconomic land, which will constrain a combined balance sheet," said Chet Riley, an analyst at Nomura International.

As the downturn in Dubai's property sector shows no signs of letting up, many big developers are being forced to scale back real-estate projects, shed staff and make other cash-saving moves. Earlier this year, Emaar said it was putting its expansion plans on hold and would focus on finishing existing projects amid the property slump.

In contrast, uncertainty surrounds the future of Dubai Holding's projects. Both Sama Dubai and Tatweer, which is developing the $110 billion Dubailand theme park, have said they are reviewing projects in light of the global credit crunch. Much of its land bank also lies in the desert, kilometers from the city center, and is unlikely to be developed in the near future.

"I wouldn't be surprised if key projects encompassing the four entities, such as Dubailand, are further delayed with additional cancellations," said UBS analyst Saud Masud.

Some analysts fear the merger may also burden Emaar's real-estate portfolio, which includes the Burj Dubai, planned to be the world's tallest building, due to open later this year.

"Dubai Holding's assets are way below Emaar's both in terms of quality and progress," said Bobby Sarkar, a real-estate analyst at Dubai-based investment bank Al Mal Capital, which Sunday said it was suspending its rating for Emaar amid uncertainties over the announcement.

In 2007, Emaar and Dubai Holding were forced to abandon a land-for-shares swap, after the proposed deal failed to impress shareholders. Instead, the two companies agreed to explore joint-venture arrangements to develop land in prime locations in Dubai.

Emaar says the merger will create a group with 13.4 billion dirhams of debt, representing 7% of total assets worth 194 billion dirhams.

At the end of last year, Dubai Properties, Sama Dubai and Tatweer had 126 billion dirhams in assets and total external debt of 3.4 billion dirhams, or 2.7% of combined assets. Emaar's own debt obligation was 10 billion dirhams, or 15% of the total book value of 68 billion dirhams in assets, at the end of March.

Dubailand Sales Center

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Heat will hit Olympic dream
26 June 2009
Middle East Economic Digest

With governments spending billions of dollars, the aim is to host leading sports events

The weather, rather than the facilities, will be the main obstacle

In 10 years' time, the Gulf will be home to sports facilities capable of hosting major sporting events such as the Olympic Games. The latest project planned in the region is an Olympic-standard stadium in Abu Dhabi, which could be used by the emirate to mount a bid for the 2020 games, when much of the city's much-hyped Plan 2030 Urban Master-plan will have been completed.

By 2020, Abu Dhabi will have hosted its tenth Formula 1 Grand Prix, at least two Fifa Club World Cups, opened its 65,000-capacity Khalifa football stadium, and completed a range of world-class golf courses.

But even with all these projects, Abu Dhabi will have some serious competition if it wants to be the sports capital of the region. Bahrain already has its own Grand Prix, Doha still has the sporting infrastructure it built for the 2006 Asian Games and is opening a new equestrian centre, and Dubai has opened the first components of its sports city at Dubailand, and is working on one of the world's largest racecourses. In Saudi Arabia, there are plans for a new sports city development on the outskirts of Jeddah.

Such heavy investment goes way beyond building municipal sports centres for local communities. With governments spending billions of dollars, the aim is to host leading sports events. The Gulf has already had a taste with the Asian Games, Grands Prix, Twenty20 cricket matches, horse racing, swimming championships, tennis and golf tournaments, and Rugby Sevens, but it wants one of the big two: the Olympics or the Fifa World Cup.

Doha's 45-degree-plus October temperatures and lack of sporting legacy meant its bid for the 2016 Olympics was shortlived, and shows that the Gulf states still have much work to do to convince sports' governing bodies that they can host such high-profile competitions.

The weather, rather than the facilities, will be the main obstacle to the Gulf states' plans to host major sporting events.

Saleh Constructions commence work at Dubai Lifestyle City in DUBAILAND®
23 July 2009
Al-Bawaba News

The projects network infrastructure at the development has been completed Lifestyle City (DLC), the luxury lifestyle development located in Dubailand, announced today that Saleh Constructions have commenced construction work of the project. Saleh Constructions will build the 68 Tuscan-themed villas and 120 villettes (condominiums).

The projects network infrastructure at the development has been completed

Lifestyle City (DLC), the luxury lifestyle development located in Dubailand, announced today that Saleh Constructions have commenced construction work of the project. Saleh Constructions will build the 68 Tuscan-themed villas and 120 villettes (condominiums).

The construction work of JW Marriot Hotel and the IMG Academies is scheduled to begin in September 2009. The first phase of DLC is expected to be completed by the end of 2011.

The projects network infrastructure work at the development is now complete. This includes the 100 per cent completion of the road networks, telecommunication, surface water drainage, sewage network, irrigation networks, fire-fighting system, street lighting and portable water network. The completion of the infrastructure work on the project site will help the progress of the construction activities.

Mr. Arif B. Rahman, Managing Director for Dubai Lifestyle City, said, “We are proud to share our progress and reaffirm our commitment to this unique project. The appointment of Saleh Constructions has been in line with our efforts to ensure superiority and, yet, maintain a swift pace in the construction work. The Dubai Lifestyle City has made a promise to deliver a first-of-its-kind haute living experience and we are on track to deliver the promise.”

Mohammed Al Habbai, Senior Vice President at Dubailand, added, “Dubai Lifestyle City is a unique project, which we are all very excited about. It will offer a different type of living experience and we are proud to have the project as part of Dubailand, through which we will continue to provide our full support to ensure the timely delivery of the project.”

Dubai Lifestyle City, has been conceptualized by the ETA Star group, is well en-route to raising the bar on “haute living”. Spread over a sprawling 4 million square feet enclave, the exclusive self-sufficient residential community has entered into partnerships with some of the most respected leaders from a variety of fields, including JW Marriott, IMG Academies, Microsoft, and CISCO to create 68 Tuscan-themed villas and 120 villettes (apartments), all conceived by Tony Ashai the celebrated Beverley Hills designer. © 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

12/July/2010

Falcon City , villa interior photos

We did a snagging with my friend today , quality is good there , we had only small problems ,mostly just final painting.

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12/July/2010

Falcon City villas, Dubailand

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12/July/2010

Falcon City villas, Dubailand

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73 new pics here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/imresolt/FalconCityVillaPhotosDubailandDubai12July2010#

There just seems to be no variety in the designs of entire blocks. The courtyards seem tiny too, with huge tank things taking up a lot of space.

Overall its good to see deelopment going on there though. I really want to see Dubailand succeed, as it will add a new dimention to the city. The theme parks will be great if they are built.

Looks like a ghost town.

Looks like a ghost town.

That is because most villas are still in the process of being handed over and the photos that Imre took was while hes friend was inspecting his or her villa. That means that a very small amount of residents has actually received their villas and those who have received theirs is either looking for an tenant, will use it as a holiday home or is still in the process of moving.

I really really hoping for that :)

Dubailand to have Universal, Legoland for now

Tatweer Parks says it is not actively pursuing other theme parks

By Parag DeulgaonkarPublished Thursday, May 19, 2011

Tatweer Parks, a subsidiary of Dubai Holding, is currently in talks with Universal Studios and Merlin Entertainments Group for theme parks in Dubailand and not actively pursuing any other venture, Emirates 24/7 can reveal.

“Tatweer Parks continue to work with Universal to develop a world class theme park in Dubai on line with market demand. Specific dates will be announced nearer to the time of opening and when agreed with Universal,” the company said in an emailed statement.

“Similarly Legoland forms an important part of this strategy and we continue to work with them.”

http://www.emirates247.com/property/dubailand-to-have-universal-legoland-for-now-2011-05-19-1.394403

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Infrastructure at Remraam, Dubailand has been largely completed.

by CW Staff on May 18, 2011

With handover set to commence in the second quarter of this year, final touches are underway at the Remraam residential development in Dubailand.

“The construction of roads and related infrastructure is substantially complete,” said Dubai Properties Group (DPG) CEO Khalid Al Malik.

DPG, a member of Dubai Holding, has also announced it has received certification from Dubai Civil Defence (DCD) for the first set of buildings at Remraam.

“The achievement of DCD certification is a significant milestone, and confirms our commitment to the delivery of this highly anticipated new community.

http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-12403-remraan-project-at-dubailand-to-be-handed-over/

By Shane McGinley | Monday, 23 May 2011 2:29 PM

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/incoming/article401636.ece/ALTERNATES/g3l/CM1442252%40Dubailand_6.jpg

Dubailand, the multibillion-dollar real estate project backed by Dubai Properties Group, is in talks with developers to review their contracts under a wider restructuring plan that aims to get the project back on track by the year-end.

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/dubailand-back-on-track-by-year-end-says-developer-401628.html






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLNrLI3OBwg :D

By Andy Sambidge | Saturday, 28 May 2011 9:54 AM

A massive downsizing of the multi-billion dollar Dubailand project is needed to fit in with the "harsh realities" of Dubai's battered real estate market, according to Business Monitor International.

In a new report, BMI analysts said "a significant scaling down" of the $91bn project is needed if it is to become a reality.

BMI's analysis of Dubailand comes just days after Dubai Properties Group said it was in talks with developers to review their contracts as part of plans to get the project back on track by the year-end.

The mega-project was one of the most ambitious entertainment resorts planned for Dubai but was placed on hold in 2008 after the credit crunch saw the emirate’s real estate market collapse.

The development was originally slated to be twice the size of Walt Disney World Resort and boasted tie-ups with Universal Studios and Legoland.

The BMI report said: "While plans to re-launch the massive leisure project by year-end certainly send out positive signals about the recovering sentiment within the market, we believe serious thought (and downsizing) will be needed if the project is to fit in with the harsh realities of Dubai's subdued property market in 2011."

BMI added that it saw the decision to re-launch the landmark project as part of a "broader trend observable within among developers in the emirate".

"Sensing a marginal improvement in market sentiment and unwilling to write-off projects altogether; many developers are now pushing ahead with developments that have been stalled since the beginning of the crisis," BMI said.

"Such developments continue to flood a market that continues to suffer from significant over-supply, despite the Dubai Real Estate Regulatory Agency's decision to cut a large chunk of planned developments in the latter half of 2010.

"With this in mind and demand for new projects still weak, we believe a significant scaling down of Dubailand's ambitions is needed if it is to fit the economic realities facing Dubai in 2011."

Dubai had the world’s fastest-growing property market from 2006 to mid-2008 because of rising demand from a growing expatriate workforce and speculation fuelled by borrowing.

Prices quadrupled in the six years following the 2002 decision to allow foreign ownership of property in designated areas.

The global financial crisis sparked the collapse of the emirate’s property sector, wiping more than 60 percent off house prices and sending speculators fleeing from the market.

About 50 percent of Dubai real-estate projects were cancelled or suspended after the collapse.

Dubai Properties Group said earlier this week that it planned to unveil a revised masterplan for the mega-project later this year.

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/dubailand-must-be-scaled-down-significantly-bmi-402385.html

Tenants flock to Dubailand as rents become more attractive
Studios available for as low as Dh20,000, while one bedroom units are available for Dh30,000


If you are looking for a good rental deal this summer, try Dubailand. Market experts estimate supply in the new community to reach around 4,200 units of which 60 per cent will come into the lease market.

http://www.emirates247.com/property/real-estate/tenants-flock-to-dubailand-as-rents-become-more-attractive-2011-05-30-1.399024

With the community evolving, residents are willing to overlook teething troubles in return for value-for-money deals.

By Deepthi Nair, Property magazine | Published: 00:00 June 1, 2011

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Falconcity residents feel it scores on areas of safety and security. Residents and visitors use the temporary entrance from Emirates Road. Image Credit: Kishore Kumar/ANM

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Falconcity villas have a good built-up area, but small plot sizes. Children play in green patches in the absence of play areas. Image Credit: Kishore Kumar/ANM

Falconcity, anyone? Tucked away on Dubai's Emirates Road, this gated community of town houses and villas has been steadily attracting both rental and sales interest. And it's not simply because it proposes to offer life-size replicas of the seven wonders of the world, but because its enormous villas are pegged at unbelievably attractive prices.

Falconcity of Wonders, as it is widely known, has another factor driving up occupancy levels: its proximity to prominent educational institutions. This makes this development very popular among families. There is Jumeirah English Speaking School in Arabian Ranches, Repton School and Dubai Modern High School in Nad Al Sheba, and Dubai English Speaking College at Academic City only a few minutes away by car.

The school factor pulls in families

"A lot of kids in Falconcity are Reptonians. This has influenced several families to move to Falconcity from Jumeirah Islands, The Meadows and the Palm Jumeirah," says Raj (prefers to use only first name), director, Top Class Real Estate. The impending opening of a GEMS school in adjacent Silicon Oasis is likely to further enhance the appeal of this community.

With 320 villas handed over in phase one, there are a number of unit specifications prospective tenants and buyers can choose from — two-bedroom town houses going all the way up to five-bedroom detached villas (see table for details).

Small plot sizes

"The four-bedroom town houses are the most popular because of their sheer size. There is also a demand among end-users for large detached villas. Those who purchased in Falconcity were mostly investors from Iran, UK, India and Pakistan," Raj explains. While the built-up area of villas has earned praise, the homes have come under scrutiny for their small plot sizes.

Meanwhile, robust occupancy levels have helped to foster camaraderie among the residents; a few women have taken the initiative to launch a community portal for Falconcity residents.

Good communal spirit

Louise Grenville, a Falconcity resident says, "There is a good vibe. We have been to two parties in Falconcity and met lots of neighbours. I've befriended an Afghan family next door and have Indian friends down the road. Our German neighbours often wish us ‘guten morgen'. It's not a typical expat community but with a little effort, my experience is that everyone wants to be friends, regardless of where they come from."

At the same time, some residents feel Falconcity exudes a sense of isolation because of its location. Sanjay Keswani, one of the first few residents to move into the community, says, "It is definitely secluded because it's 20km away from the city centre. However, we really don't feel it once we are inside this residential community because it is almost fully occupied."

Not in the middle of nowhere

On the other hand, there are others who insist that the development is not as cut off as people perceive it to be. Good access to both Emirates Road and Al Ain Road brings all major destinations — the Dubai International Airport, Downtown Dubai, Jebel Ali and Sharjah — within a 15-minute radius, they claim.

"Mirdif City Centre can be reached in 15 minutes. I can drive down Al Ain Road and be in Wafi [Mall] in 15 minutes too. It's actually a great location if you don't mind driving," says Louise.

However, the main approach road from Emirates Road is yet to open to the public and residents currently use the temporary entry gate. Also, with the absence of street signage, it's a tad difficult for visitors to locate the villas.

Retail not accounted for

As is typical of a new neighbourhood, Falconcity has its fair share of teething problems. The developer, Salem Al Moosa Enterprise, is yet to make provisions for retail in the community. As a result, residents drive to Le Marche Supermarket in Arabian Ranches, Spinneys in MotorCity, Carrefour in Mirdif City Centre or the new Spinneys in Cedre Villas, Silicon Oasis to shop for essentials. Mobile supermarket operator Early Bird also delivers supplies in Falconcity between 8am and 9pm on Wednesdays.

Community too small to sustain retail?

"A small grocery outlet would be very useful and is probably the number one facility most residents would like to see here soon," says Louise.

However, an argument is gaining ground that 320 villas would not generate sufficient business to sustain a well-entrenched supermarket brand in Falconcity. Raj, who's also a Falconcity resident says, "The developer doesn't want to go in for a basic brand and change it later. The community is currently too small to sustain a supermarket. It's a necessity, but it's not feasible as yet."

The same logic is also being applied to justify the absence of a community centre. While online community discussion forums look at the possibility of the show villa being converted into a community centre featuring a swimming pool and a gym, this is not likely to happen under current rules. "As per the municipality regulations, you cannot convert a show home into a community centre. The size of the pool in the show villa is not sufficient for the general public," clarifies Raj. He insists a separate community centre will be built once the infrastructure work on phase two is complete.

Children's play areas not built yet

Another pet peeve of Falconcity residents is the absence of children's play areas. As a result, children and their nannies have to make do with the sundry green patches dotting the project. Louise says, "There are certainly a lot of children here, as evidenced by the number we see riding bikes, playing football and roller-blading in the quiet streets. Some of the communal areas have been set aside for children's playgrounds but sadly have not yet been built."

The community, however, scores on areas of safety and security. Speed bumps on the roads ensure disciplined driving. With families moving in, gates that were earlier open to construction workers have now been closed and there is round-the-clock security to man the gates. "The only access to Falconcity for visitors is through the security guards," says Raj.

The absence of public transport is a matter of concern. Louise says, "Cabs, however, now know where we are, so they come as quickly as anywhere else. Hailing one on Emirates Road is not advisable though."

Residents complain about the lack of a permanent mosque as well as medical services within the community. Al Wasl Hospital, American Hospital and clinics in Silicon Oasis and Arabian Ranches are the closest.

Noise of trucks from Emirates Road

Villas facing Emirates Road are bound to be affected by the noise of the truck traffic whereas those far inside the compound have no such problem. "It's very nice and peaceful here," says Louise describing her home. The land gap between Falconcity villas and Emirates Road also helps to cut out noise to a certain extent. "Our windows are air-tight and the soundproofing is good," Raj adds. Both villas and town houses come with a double garage and three free parking spaces outside for visitors.

While the current average sales price in Falconcity is Dh625 per square foot, it could vary depending on the villa location. Units located next to the entrance gate and facing the upcoming lake would fetch a premium. While the service charge specified in the Falconcity sales contract is Dh600 per month, the developer is yet to start levying it owing to the undelivered communal facilities. The development is not serviced by district cooling; instead, all villas run on split air conditioners.

"The quality of maintenance is above average. The community is kept very clean and is still under warranty," says Sanjay. Concurring with him, Louise adds, "The maintenance team comes quickly, often within minutes. Admittedly, we do have to call them very often but that is to be expected during the first year of residence in any new villa, to iron out problems."

A few eateries that cater to Falconcity households include Le Succes French Bakery & Pastries in Uptown MotorCity, Brit Balti at International City and Lucky's Pizza in MotorCity.

http://gulfnews.com/polopoly_fs/flaconcity-1.816422!image/1872037247.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_475/1872037247.jpg
320 villas have been handed over in phase one of the Falconcity development. Image Credit: Kishore Kumar/ANM

http://gulfnews.com/business/property/falconcity-dubai-s-best-kept-secret-1.811596

By Parag Deulgaonkar | Published Sunday, June 19, 2011

National Bonds Corporation (NBC), the Shariah-compliant savings scheme,expects to collect nearly Dh100 million in the next eight weeks as apartment owners in Skycourts, a residential project, start taking possession of their units, company CEO told Emirates24|7.

“About Dh100 million is going to be collected from Skycourts customers over the next eight weeks as per the original payment plan schedule.

Looking at the payment inflows being received from the customers taking possession of their units, we are comfortable that this target will be achieved successfully,” Mohammed Qasim Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer, NBC, said.

The Dh1.6 billion Skycourts development, which has over 2,800 apartments across six towers in Dubailand, is the only real estate project developed by the company.

In October 2010, Al Ali told this website that NBC was keeping away from investing in the real estate sector.

Al Ali claimed that none of the customers had defaulted, while Amlak Finance and Dubai Bank, end-user finance companies, were continuing to fulfil their commitments.

“To date, we do not have any confirmed defaulted customers, Both Amlak Finance and Dubai Bank are one of the end user finance sources. Until now, mortgage payments from these two entities are regular and we haven’t seen anything that contradicts this commitment. “

The company has already collected 75 per cent of dues from most of the customers as per the payment plan before the project’s handover.

“… we do not expect to have any difficulties in collecting the remaining due amounts,” he added.

NBC, which still owns a few units in Skycourts, expects to generate a “reasonable” rental returns.

According to property listing websites, studio apartments in the project are currently being leased from Dh22,000 per year onwards, while one beds start from Dh34,000 .

In March, the Investment Corporation of Dubai acquired the remaining 50 per cent stake in NBC from Emaar Properties, Dubai Holding and Dubai Bank, giving it full ownership of the company.

http://www.emirates247.com/business/economy-finance/dh100m-from-skycourts-handover-2011-06-19-1.403330

Company says it work patiently with customers; investors said undated cheques were bounced and presented to police

By Parag Deulgaonkar | Published Tuesday, June 21, 2011

http://cdn-wac.emirates247.com/polopoly_fs/1.266298.1279078559!/image/4229304644.jpg
Amlak waives off charges to spur partial loan settlement. (EB FILE)

Amlak Finance, a Dubai-based Islamic mortgage company, has confirmed it has taken legal action against some investors who'd refused to take possession of their apartments and had breached their contractual obligation, Emirates 24|7 can reveal.

"Amlak Finance has and continues to exert all goodwill measures and case by case incentives to ensure the smooth conduct of our customers' financing obligations," the company said in an emailed statement.

"Unfortunately, legal action was taken against very few customers who have refused to take possession of their properties, in breach of their contractual obligations, and whose cheques have bounced due to insufficient funds, even though we have worked diligently and patiently with such customers to manage their cases to the best of our ability," it added.

The company's response came after a few investors claimed the mortgage company had presented their cheques since they had refused to take handover of their units.

An investor, who has been financed by Amlak in Skycourts project, said on conditions of anonymity: "I had met Amlak officials and had given them the reasons why I was not eager to take handover of my unit. I had told them I would not be paying any money to them.

"The company presented my cheque, which bounced due to insufficient funds. The following day, I received a call from the police, who asked me to come with my passport to the police station. I was left with no other option, but to pay and take possession of my unit."

Last month, this website reported Amlak had informed its Skycourts clients that it is exploring legal options against defaulters and did not rule out presenting security cheques of buyers refusing unit handovers.

"In the event of your failure to fulfil the above requirement, Amlak Finance shall exercise its rights under the relevant finance document and shall also be entitled to explore all available legal options, including but not limited to damages suffered by Amlak as a consequence of the breach and presentation of your security cheque/s, which may result in adverse legal consequences for you," the company said in a final reminder sent to an investor on April 17.

http://www.emirates247.com/business/amlak-takes-legal-action-against-few-defaulters-2011-06-21-1.403735

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/224/501770287_748de81161_b.jpg

The rugby stadium looks soooo much to Portugal's Estadio Algarve in Faro! :lol:

^^And the one behind that one is just slightly different from Docklands (aka Etihad) Stadium in Melbourne :nuts:

^^ More empty buildings?

^^And the one behind that one is just slightly different from Docklands (aka Etihad) Stadium in Melbourne :nuts:

The rugby stadium looks soooo much to Portugal's Estadio Algarve in Faro! :lol:

Only the 4 stadiums in the top right hand corner of the picture will be/ has been built.:)

Kevin Brass | July 1, 2011

http://www.thenational.ae/deployedfiles//Assets/Richmedia/Image/SaxoPress/AD20110701749198-1-UAE%20-%20Dubai%20-%20J.jpg
The Remraam apartment project, which is surrounded by empty desert. Jaime Puebla / The National

Angry buyers in one of the largest apartment projects in Dubailand are demanding refunds and threatening to sue, claiming the project about to be delivered is nothing like the oasis they were promised.

Promotional materials for Remraam touted extensive landscaping, large swimming pools, community centres, shopping malls and proximity to Dubailand's proposed amusement parks. Eighty-three per cent of the grounds would be covered by greenery, the ads said.

But as the developer Mizin, a subsidiary of Dubai Properties Group (DPG), prepares to begin handing over the first of 3,000 apartments in the next few weeks, none of those elements have been built. There is no landscaping or recreational facilities, and the project is surrounded by empty desert for kilometres in every direction.

"It's not habitable, and it won't be for some time," said Amit Gupta, a banker who paid a deposit in 2008 on a Dh1.2 million (US$327,000) two-bedroom apartment in the first phase. "That is not what we paid for."

The developer insists Remraam, named after a plant that grows naturally in the UAE, will eventually live up to the glossy brochures distributed during the height of Dubai's property boom. Landscaping and the other amenities are still in the plans, a spokesman said.

"DPG is committed to this project, which will be delivered in accordance to initial expectations," said a DPG spokesman. "However, a community takes time to mature."

Remraam includes 56 buildings, ranging from five to seven storeys. Original plans called for about 200 residential buildings, part of Dubailand's network of projects surrounding amusement parks and the Mall of Arabia, designed to be the world's largest shopping mall.

Most of the projects around Remraam, including the Mall of Arabia, the $1.1 billion Tiger Woods Dubai residential development and the amusement parks, were put on hold after the global financial crisis.

Remraam was downsized and construction delayed on many of the buildings. Buyers of units that have stalled have been offered ones in buildings closer to completion.

"Mizin only delayed buildings due to non-payment from customers," the DPG spokesman said. "All customers who fulfilled their contractual payment obligations received the units they booked or alternatives as agreed mutually."

But Rizwan Butt said he stopped making payments when it became clear no construction was taking place on his building.

"They want the rest of the payments, but I don't see a single brick," said Mr Butt, who made a down payment on a Dh1.7m three-bedroom apartment in 2008.

"Why should I pay?" he said. "What they have promised is completely not what is getting delivered."

Some buyers said they would demand refunds if their apartments were not delivered by the end of last month, as stated in their contracts.

"I'm happy to lose my 5 per cent [deposit]," said one buyer, who asked not to be named. "I'd rather that than be in a project in the middle of the desert."

http://www.thenational.ae/business/property/downsized-dubailand-development-sparks-fury

Written by: A Place in the Sun Thursday, July 21, 2011

Overseas property investors looking to purchase in Dubai may wish might want to consider the La Fontana di Trevi development, which is currently offering significant discounts.

To celebrate the launch of the project situated in Arjan, several plots are being sold at half their original price, for example, a studio is on the market at Dhs. 199,000 and a one-bedroom for Dhs. 399,000. A 2-bedroom, which had a price tag in excess of Dhs.1.2 million when the project was launched in 2008, can be purchased for only Dhs. 599,00.

Mr. Ashok J. Galgotia, the CEO of Triveni Builders and Promoters Ltd said: “La Fontana di Trevi is a significant development for the middle-income segment. Investors and other buyers have responded positively to our special offer, and are excited by the prospect of taking possession of ready apartments at such low prices.”

The company’s decision to slash prices seems to be as a result of development work in the area grinding to a standstill. The Italian company’s investment is one of the few in the surrounding area that has been completed, and Mr Galgatia stated that the company will be using the money generated by the quick sale of these units to issue final payments to contractors.

La Fontana di Trevi, which is named after the legendary world famous fountain in Rome comprises 122 contemporary residential apartments.

http://www.aplaceinthesun.com/news/feature/tabid/131/EntryId/1025/Dubai-s-Fontana-di-Trevi-development-offers-significant-discounts.aspx

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Imdaad has won a FM contract for the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Sports Complex in Dubai.

by CW Staff on Dec 26, 2011

Imdaad has secured a two-year contract for the provision of FM services to the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Sports Complex.

The contract will see Imdaad provide facility operation, and facility preventive and corrective maintenance. The agreement covers MEP equipment/systems, A/C system, civil works, IT works, soft and hard landscaping and streetlighting.

http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-15119-imdaad-secures-two-year-sports-venue-fm-contract/

Kevin Brass | Jan 2, 2012

http://www.thenational.ae/deployedfiles/Assets/Richmedia/Image/SaxoPress/AD20120102960892-1-The%20La%20Fontana%20.jpg
The La Fontana project in Arjan in Dubai. Satish Kumar / The National

After a lengthy dispute over electrical hook-ups, the first project is ready for handover in Arjan, the Dh20 billion (US$5.44bn) development planned to include Dubai's version of the London Eye.

Construction on La Fontana di Trevi, an Dh80 million residential development with 122 apartments, was started in 2008.

http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/industry-insights/property/la-fontana-in-dubai-is-finally-done

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Dubailand, the stalled real estate and tourism resort, has ditched plans to build a 185m Ferris wheel set to rival
the London Eye in the latest setback to the troubled multibillion-dollar project

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/incoming/article439030.ece/ALTERNATES/gallerySize/Wheel-2.gif
The Great Dubai Wheel, an AED250m ($68m) observation wheel, was set to be a leading tourist attraction within
Dubailand’s Arjan development, but was scrapped amid a wider revamp of the project

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/incoming/article439031.ece/ALTERNATES/gallerySize/Wheel-3.gif
'Originally the brochure said it was included,’ said Ashok Galgotia, CEO of Triveni Builders and Promoters, the
subcontractors that last week handed over the first units at Arjan’

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/incoming/article439032.ece/ALTERNATES/gallerySize/Wheel-4.gif
‘But we were told [the Great Dubai Wheel] would not be coming and it would be something else. They are
negotiating [to find a replacement] attraction’

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/incoming/article439034.ece/ALTERNATES/gallerySize/Wheel-6.gif
Dubailand was one of the Gulf emirate’s most ambitious developments, announced at the height of the real
estate bubble

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/photos/designs-for-scrapped-dubailand-ferris-wheel-revealed--439035.html?img=0

Jan 8, 2012

Dubailand, the stalled real estate and tourism resort, has ditched plans to build a 185m Ferris wheel set to rival the London Eye in the latest setback to the troubled multibillion-dollar project.

The Great Dubai Wheel, an AED250m ($68m) observation wheel, was set to be a leading tourist attraction within Dubailand’s Arjan development, but was scrapped amid a wider revamp of the project.

http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/13274-dubais-answer-to-london-eye-scrapped/

by CW Staff on Jan 12, 2012

A Dubailand contractor is mulling legal action against the resort’s developer in a bid to recoup some AED12.4m ($3m) in losses he claims to have incurred after power delays to the project.

Triveni Builders and Promoters, the firm behind the La Fontana di Trevi project in the AED20bn Arjun development, said a row over the site’s electricity connection had pushed back handover of the property and forced the company to breach its contract with investors.

“We are thinking about arbitration, but we have not started yet. We are negotiating with [developer Dubai Properties Group] for at least part of our losses,” said CEO Ashok Galgotia.

Triveni began work on the AED80m residential development in 2008, but construction stalled after a planned electrical substation on the site was never built, leaving it without power.

http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-15270-firm-mulls-legal-action-over-dubailand-power-woes/

I don't mean to be a pessimist, but I foresee a very rough future for Dubai. It's overbuilding worse than I've seen overbuilding in my lifetime. Dubai is akin to developing a city the size of Houston in the middle of Siberia. There's no demand for office space in the area, yet they exploit their resources to try to create some false mirage. I mean look, they're even building skyscrapers at an amusement park! Dubai is destined for failure if it keeps building without demand. The stuff they've built is going to cost a lot to maintain, and they seem to forget that. When the oil money goes away, so will the city I think. Obviously not all the way, but Dubai's future looks like that of Detroit's. Remember, at one time Detroit was a thriving city, it took little for it to fall. It'll take even less for Dubai.

This whole "Dubai Land" looks like epic failure to me. I am not a an envious anti Dubai guy, a lot of the developments along where you have the metro line now, ore somewhat close by or at the coast could possibly work out but they overdid everything with "Dubai Land". You can't bloat up everything limitless. At some point everything is so big and far apart that its starting to be a pain in the *ss for everyone involved.

Dubai Land Department has recorded 35,297 transactions worth Dh143 billion last year, a 20 per cent increase in value over 2010 records, a statement said.

The transactions include sales, mortgages, ijarah, mortgage portfolios, deferred sales and other transactions.


Last year has seen an 12 per cent increase in mortgages compared to the value recorded in 2010. The mortgages represent 60 per cent of the total transactions conducted in 2011, this indicates the recovery of the property financing and the return of healthy activities. Article continues below

I don't mean to be a pessimist, but I foresee a very rough future for Dubai. It's overbuilding worse than I've seen overbuilding in my lifetime. Dubai is akin to developing a city the size of Houston in the middle of Siberia. There's no demand for office space in the area, yet they exploit their resources to try to create some false mirage. I mean look, they're even building skyscrapers at an amusement park! Dubai is destined for failure if it keeps building without demand. The stuff they've built is going to cost a lot to maintain, and they seem to forget that. When the oil money goes away, so will the city I think. Obviously not all the way, but Dubai's future looks like that of Detroit's. Remember, at one time Detroit was a thriving city, it took little for it to fall. It'll take even less for Dubai.

I think for a part that it justs needs more time to develop in a more natural way. Which could take decades of course. I'm sure it can become a great city! But indeed, they need to get rid of projects like this and focus more on filling the gaps in already build area's with smaller buildings, shops, parks, public spaces etc.

by CW Staff on Jan 24, 2012

Investors in Dubai’s Remraam Community have petitioned the emirate’s ruler to intervene in a dispute with the project’s developer after they were told they risked fines if they failed to accept the handover of properties in the unfinished complex.

http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-15398-remraam-investors-petition-dubai-rulers-court/