01 Number Crunching In Dubai
According to the latest figures from Municipal officials it has been another record breaking few months in Dubai.
There were 560 building added to the increasingly crowded Dubai skyline in 2005 – and that record looks all set to be broken if current levels of spend are anything to go by. The total spend for the completed buildings during the first three months of 2006 was more than Dhs2.83 billion
And that was not all, 6.89 million passengers travelling through Dubai International Airport whilst during the same period 8,343 vessels called at Dubai sea ports. Over 1.42 million guests used the 30,162 rooms available in 302 hotels in Dubai. It also hosted 53 conferences and exhibitions and 217,307 visitors came to the Dubai World Trade Centre for them.
02 Cranes Crazy
Such is the magnitude of construction that is going on in Dubai that it currently houses almost a quarter of the world’s cranes.
About 30,000 cranes are currently operating in the Emirate state and that looks set to rise as the real estate and construction boom continues – and that could lead to more problems.
Dubai now has some $200 billion in building projects, and needs more and more cranes to complete its projects. However, manufacturers can’t make cranes fast enough and the second-hand market has been largely cleaned out.
03 India Hits Golden Heights
India has now overtaken China as the biggest exporter to Dubai, and it is all down to the assets of gold.
The Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zones Corporation (PCFC) figures said that total trade increased from Dh 215.73 billion in 2004 to Dh 280.46 billion in 2005. The reason for the increase is down purely to gold, with Dubai dealing with 10 per cent of the world’s physical gold.
04 Life in the Fast Lane
Dubai as a city has one the highest Road Traffic Accident (RTA) rates in the world. Sheikh Zayed Road especially seems to be an accident hotspot. It is unsurprising if you take into account reports early this year that millions of Dhs in traffic fines have gone unpaid in Dubai. Those who wish to speed are taking full advantage of this lax attitude towards speed.
Just recently Mohammed Ben Sulayem 14 times Middle Eastern rally champion highlighted the need to slow the Emirates drivers down especially those between the ages of 23 and 27. It is high time strong measures were taken to prevent 200+ deaths a year from accidents on Dubai’s roads.
Some cite the need to have a change in culture in the Police force to gain true change in the driving in Dubai. The average person on the street will claim that there is often something stronger than the speeding fine and that’s the power of the preverbal “Wasta”.
|
|