Dubai and its future economy

Bibhuti Bhushan Bhardwaj

6th semester (B.Tech), Department of Civil Engineering

Dubai is a sheikhdom, built on the profits of its oil desert. This tiny emirate, twice the size of London is reckoned at the top of the list

of the richest places in the Arab world. At its peak, Dubai produces 91 million barrels of oil every year worth ` 7800 crores. But, it

hasn’t always been like this. Fifty years ago, Dubai used to be a simple dusty backward trading town and over half a century later it

has been transformed. Now, it is famous not only for Trade but for Gold and most importantly Oil also. In the 1960’s oil was

discovered in Dubai. The sudden injection of billions of patrol dollars transformed the sheikhdom totally. Hundreds of skyscrapers

have already soared to the sky as no project seems too big here; money is not at all a problem for the sheikh. Statistics says, a third of

the world cranes operate in Dubai only. But unfortunately, the geologists have predicted that the Oil-boom will be over by the year of

2016. It will mean a disaster for the economy of Dubai. The good life could end just as quickly as it began when the oil-wells will run

dry. So, Dubai must find a new source of income. The answer to Dubai’s economic survival lay on its geography. This tiny emirate

is situated in the remote Arabian Gulf. But, Dubai has three untapped assets - Sun, Sand and Sea. The crown prince Sheikh

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum came up with a two billion dollar plan to save his country. He ordered his kingdom to transform

itself into the world’s number one luxury tourist destination and the crown prince has a history of getting what he wants. Over the

years, the Maktoum dynesty has metamorphosised Dubai from a small fishing village to a multinational finance centre for the Middle

East. Dubai has now become a place where Imagination and laws of Physics together are yielding world’s greatest Civil Engineering

marvels one after another. Anyway, his big idea is to change Dubai from an emirate, reliant on oil to a land filled by tourists such that

this model of business drives its economy, with the effect that its main revenues are now from tourism, real estate, and financial

services, similar to that of Western countries. His project has started over a decade ago with the building of Burj-al-Arab, world’s

tallest hotel with a seven star reputation. The Maktoums have also built the vast shopping mall known as The Dubai Mall, golf

courses as well as ski slopes in the desert, world’s tallest building Burj-Khalifa (formerly known as Burj-Dubai) and have

revolutionized the coast-line. This emirate has tripled its coastline by building two enormous palm islands stretching 10 km out to sea

with a third even larger one under construction and Dubai has almost finished the plan of putting itself firmly in the map by

recreating the world - three hundred man made islands constructed out in the Arabian gulf, known as world island. It has been said

that that it is the biggest reclaimation project ever taken and the successful completion of this mega-structure has pushed Dubai to the

limit. Some of the Dubai’s greatest engineering marvels have been mentioned here along with their brief details-

1. Burj Khalifa

The building Burj Khalifa, also known formerly as Burj Dubai, located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is presently holding the title

of tallest building in the world. Its construction started in the year of 2004 and was finished in 2010. With a budget for this project

exceeding ` 7500 crores, the final height of the spectacular Burj Khalifa skyscraper soars to 828m above ground level in a total of

160 floors, holding the record of being the world’s tallest man-made structure also.

2. Burj-Al-Arab

Burj-Al-Arab situated in Dubai, UAE is currently holding the title of the tallest hotel in the world. This tallest sea-based hotel in the

world at a height of 321 metres and 60 floors, the Burj Al Arab Hotel is a landmark icon on the Dubai skyline. An artificial island

was created to support this architectural and technical marvel. Inspired by the wind filled sails of an Arab trading ship, the sail facade

features a unique double-skinned Teflon-coated woven glass fibre screen. One night stay in this luxurious hotel costs up to ` 12 lacs.

3. Dubai Infinity Tower

Dubai Infinity Tower, situated in Dubai, UAE is the first building on earth having twists of full 90 degrees from its base to its crown.

It has a total height of 307 metres with total no. of 73 floors. Amenities at Infinity Tower include a landscaped podium, retail outlets,

children's nursery, gymnasium, outdoor swimming pools, built-in wardrobes, high-speed Internet and outdoor tennis court. The

architects proposed the twisting geometry of the Tower as a means to maximize the views at different elevations.

4. Palm Islands

The Palm Islands are an artificial archipelago in Dubai, UAE on which major commercial and residential infrastructures are being

constructed. The islands are the Palm Jumeirah, the Palm Jebel Ali and the Palm Deira. Each settlement is in the shape of a palm

tree, topped with a crescent, and will have a large number of residential, leisure and entertainment centres. The first two islands will

comprise approximately 100 million cubic meters of rock and sand. Palm Deira will be composed of approximately 1 billion cubic

meters of rock and sand. Among the three islands there will be over 100 luxury hotels, exclusive residential beach side villas and

apartments, marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities and health spas. The creation of the Palm

Jumeirah began in June 2001. Shortly after, the Palm Jebel Ali was announced and reclaimation work began. The Palm Deira, which

is planned to have a surface area of 46.35 square kilometres, was announced for development in October 2004. Construction was

originally planned to take 10–15 years, but that was before the impact of the global credit crunch hit Dubai.

5. World Island

The original plan of this giga-project was to create the seven continents in single sections, but the sheikh quickly realized that no one

will buy such big plots. Instead, he decided to divide the world into lots of little sand islands so that the investors can have their own

private islands. There are three hundred of these of which one hundred and fifty have already been sold. 300 million cubic meters of

sand is already used in this giga-structure.

6. Da Vinci Tower

The Da Vinci Tower (also known as Dynamic Architecture Building or the Dynamic Tower) is a planned 420 metre, 80 floor moving

skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, designed by architect David Fisher Uniquely. Each floor will be able to rotate

independently. This will result in a constantly changing shape of the tower. Each floor will rotate a maximum of 6 metres per minute,

or one full rotation in 90 minutes. It will also be the world's first prefabricated skyscraper with 40 factory-built modules for each

floor. 90% of the tower will be built in a factory and shipped to the construction site. In a case of this dynamic tower, the energy of

the sun and the wind is being used to power the building. It may sound impossible, but the tower will be the world’s first building in

motion. Each floor of this 80 storey building will hang like a ring around the stationary cement core. The rotation of the top ten floors

can be controlled when they move turning 360 degrees in 90 minutes. The bottom 70 floors are programmed electronically to take

advantages of solar energy. To maximize wind power, giant turbine blades have been inserted horizontally in between the floors of

the building

Fig. Burj Khalifa Fig. Burj-Al-Arab Fig. Dubai Infinity Tower Fig. Da Vinci Tower

Fig. The Dubai coastline - arrow showing

the location of Burj Khalifa