In my last post I covered the Mega Expansion  in UAE/Gulf airport/aviation projects...the biggest expansion of its kind in the world. This is why the Gulf is expanding so fast:

The Middle East has become the world leader in Global Tourism! The Middle East surged ahead 13% in '07 with a total of 46 million arrivals. This is the largest percentage gain of anywhere in the world...even larger than Asia which increased by 10%.

What really excites me here is that most of the spectacular UAE Mega Entertainment Projects are not even complete yet. Imagine how huge tourism will get when Mega Projects like:

- Dubailand

- MGM Grand Abu Dhabi

- Ferrari Theme Park on Yas Island

- PKN Princess Resort in Ajman

- Warner Brothers Theme Park, Abu Dhabi

- Sega/Emaar Theme Parks

...to name just a few, are complete! It will be INCREDIBLE! As I have been saying for quite some time, the UAE/Gulf will become the entertainment/tourist capital of the world! Over $1Trillion is being spent in the Gulf on Mega Entertainment and Leisure Projects. No other part of the world even comes close. Not China. Not India. Not USA.

The future of world tourism is the Middle East.  

For more information on the UAE Mega Projects go to:

http://uaemegaprojects.blogspot.com  

The world leader in airport/aviation Mega Development is by far the UAE/Gulf Region. The Dubai World International Airport at Jebel Ali is a $8.2Billion project. The Abu Dhabi International Airport expansion is at $6.8Billion! The new Doha International Airport in Qatar is $5.5Billion! Furthermore, Saudi Arabia is spending a whopping $11.3Billion to expand and improve their airports.  Others in the Gulf are jumping on board:

- Bahrain International Airport: $815Million

- Kuwait International Airport: $2.1Billion

- Baghdad International Airport: $2Billion

- Queen Alia International Airport, Jordan: $600Million

The Dubai Air Show keeps getting bigger and bigger! The 2007 Show was the biggest ever. According to Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), and Chairman of Dubai Airports:

"The scale of growth in the show over the past two years - which amounts to some 40% in booked floor space, reflects the massive growth the Middle East's aviation industry is experiencing across all segments. Regional carriers are expanding fleets and networks, there is huge investment in the region's aviation infrastructure, the aviation service sector is attracting a considerable influx in FDI, and the training and development of the industry's regional talent pool is moving forward at pace."

At the air show the largest order in civil aviation history was placed by Emirates Airline of Dubai for the following:

- 120 Airbus 350s

- 11 A380s

- 12 Boeing 777-300ERs

- TOTAL COST?? $34.9Billion!! WOW!!!

I think it should now become clear to you that the UAE/Gulf region of the Middle East is the world leader in Aviation Mega Projects and Developments.

For more information on the UAE Mega Projects go to:

http://uaemegaprojects.blogspot.com

I have been saying for quite some time that the UAE will end up looking like a world 200 years in the future when all these Mega Projects are complete. What does a world of the future need? A spaceport naturally. And of course the UAE with their great NO LIMITS attitude is building one!! In RAK.

This is what Sheikh Al Qasimi of RAK had to say about UAE Spaceport:

"I am proud to announce Ras Al Khaimah as the site where suborbital space travel will begin and flourish. Space Adventures is the pioneer of space tourism, which is why we signed an agreement with them nearly a year ago and began this project. After we initiate operations here we look forward to expanding operations outside of the UAE. In this regard I would like to announce that we have committed an additional $30Million of funding for global spaceport development. We are most excited about spearheading this multi-billion dollar industry."

Wow! We can now see that soon the UAE will become a world leader in space travel! As noted above, RAK has taken a company called Space Adventures as their partner in this project. Another space adventure company, Virgin Galactic, owned by billionaire Richard Branson, is considering locating in the UAE.

Suborbital space travel is a new era for the travel industry. Anyone, with enough money to do so, will be able to travel into space for the adventure of a lifetime...and of course the UAE will be a world leader in this sector of the travel business just as it is in all other areas of travel.

You can read more about all of this here: 

http://www.officeroutlook.com/news/Science/778.htm

http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=7906&t=1&c=34&cg=

http://www.spaceadventures.com/index.cfm

For more information on the UAE Mega Projects go to:

http://uaemegaprojects.blogspot.com

Let us travel outside the UAE to Bahrain and cover Sukoon Tower, a new Mega Project being developed by Tashyeed Properties. This 45 floor tower has a unique theme: to bring the outdoors indoors. To that end Sukoon Tower will have vast areas of gardens and water features giving residents an overall feeling of being part of the great outdoors.

According to Dr. Kadhem Rajab, Chairman of Tashyeed:

"At Tashyeed Properties we want to enhance people's lives through the development of new homes and commercial buildings. With Sukoon Tower we plan to develop a landmark project close to the waters edge in Juffair that residents can make their own urban haven. We have worked in partnership with internationally acclaimed architects and interior designers to ensure Sukoon Tower will stand out on Juffair's skyline."

The managing director of Tashyeed, Mr. Redha Rajab, had this to say about Sukoon Tower:

"Sukoon Tower has been designed with the utmost care, due diligence and end user centric attention to detail. Global experts in all disciplines have been engaged to ensure that the design development process culminates in an inspiring and iconic tower to enhance the lifestyle of its residents dotting the Bahrain skyline. The Tower will have a meticulously designed dedicated recreation floor with vast landscaped greenery, water features and a dedicated health club floor to provide its residents with a signature lifestyle. Great care and attention have been made to create unique apartment combination options and offering investors multiple options in their choice of apartment type and area. We are proud to create this tower in Bahrain and invite Bahrainis and other international investors to invest in this unique opportunity."

I think Sukoon Tower will be another fantastic addition to the many incredible Bahrain Mega Projects being developed. Sukoon Tower will offer its residents an unsurpassed lifestyle in the fast paced Kingdom of Bahrain.

Here is the link to the Sukoon Tower website:

http://www.sukoontower.com/default.html

...and here is the Tashyeed Properties link:

 http://www.tashyeed.net/ 

For more information on the UAE and Bahrain Mega Projects go to:

http://uaemegaprojects.blogspot.com

Al Ameera Village is a new Mega residential community being built in Ajman. This is a great looking development that is also very conveniently located. It is only a 15 minute drive from Dubai International Airport. Due to its great location it will attract many, many buyers--both from the UAE and expats from all over the world as well. Al Ameera will contain:

- 50 residential buildings

- A huge shopping mall

- Hotel apartments

- A wide variety of retail shops, restaurants, gardens, parks, a nursery, commercial clubs, fitness centers, etc.

This is going to be a beautiful residential community and will no doubt be sold out fast. Al Ameera Village is being developed by Tameer, a leading developer in the UAE.

Here is the link to the Al Ameera Village section of the Tameer website:

http://www.tameer.net/alameeravillage/

...and here is a very good article about the project:

http://www.ameinfo.com/67658.html

For more information on the UAE Mega Projects go to:

http://uaemegaprojects.blogspot.com

Dubai is going way beyond it's own borders with Mega Project investment. In fact Dubai is buying up Las Vegas! Dubai World recently purchased 50% of the MGM Mirage City Center Mega Project in Las Vegas. I can see why. City Center looks like something right out of the Dubai Mega Project portfolio. It is HUGE. It is SPECTACULAR. In short, it is DUBAI! Dubai World paid $2.96Billion for it's 50% share of City Center.

What is even more interesting is that Dubai World has also purchased 6.5% of the ENTIRE MGM Mirage Corporation. This means Dubai World now owns 6.5% of the following casinos:

- Mirage

- Luxor

- Excalibur

- MGM Grand

- Treasure Island

- Mandaly Bay

- Bellagio

- New York, New York

- Monte Carlo

- Circus Circus

- Railroad Pass

- Silver Legacy Reno

- Circus Circus Reno

- Goldstrike, Jean, Nevada

- Borgata, Atlantic City

- Beau Rivage, Biloxi, Mississippi

- Goldstrike, Tunica, Mississippi

- MGM Grand, Detroit, Michigan

- Grand Victoria, Elgin, Illinois

WOW!! And this is not all. Dubai World also owns 30% of Kerzner International which owns:

- Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas. A gigantic Mega Resort Casino. An exact copy of this resort is being built on Palm Jumeirah, but without the gambling.

- Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut, one of the largest casinos in the world. Technically this casino is owned by the Native Americans of Connecticut, but Kerzner developed it and still gets a share of the huge profits this Mega Casino makes.

Looks like some great MEGA investments to me. I know Islam is against gambling, but there are no casino operations in Dubai. The Dubai World casino investments are all in the USA and Bahamas.

Here are some links of interest.

The MGM Mirage City Center link:

http://www.citycenter.com/default.aspx?CMP=KNC-Google-City_Corp

MGM Mirage:

http://www.mgmmirage.com/

Atlantis Resort Casino:

http://www.atlantis.com/

For more information on the UAE Mega Projects go to:

http://uaemegaprojects.blogspot.com

This really surprised me!! I didn't think the UAE/Gulf region would ever see any real competition to the spectacular Mega Projects being built in this area. And then  I heard about Crystal Island, the biggest building in the world. So massive that it will house an ENTIRE CITY within its walls! The architects for this Mega Project are Foster + Partners of London, the same architects who designed The Blue City, Oman.

Crystal Island will  have four times the floor space of the Pentagon in Washington D.C., more floor space than any other structure on Earth....this includes any stucture in the UAE of course. The building will stretch almost 1,500 feet into the sky and will be a multi-use structure. Crystal Island will include 900 apartments, 3,000 hotel rooms, business offices, a school for 500 students, a movie theater, a museum, a sports complex and loads of shops and restaurants....an entire city!

Crystal Island is located in Moscow only 7.5km from the Kremlin. Here is a quote from Norman Foster of Foster + Partners:

“Crystal Island is one of the world’s most ambitious building projects and it represents a milestone in the 40 year history of the practice. It is the largest single building in the world, creating a year-round destination for Moscow and a sustainable, dynamic new urban quarter. It is a paradigm of compact, mixed-use, sustainable city planning, with an innovative energy strategy and ‘smart’ skin which buffers against climate extremes.”

Well, Dubai and the rest of the UAE have a new challenge. They now have to develop a building bigger than Crystal Island. Somehow I don't think the UAE will allow Crystal Island to be the world's largest building for very long. As a matter of fact it would not surprise me if RIGHT NOW Emaar is not planning to outdo the Russians and create a building larger than Crystal Island!

See Crystal Island for yourself here:

http://www.fosterandpartners.com/News/324/Default.aspx

For more information on the UAE Mega Projects go to:

http://uaemegaprojects.blogspot.com

Get ready for spectacular Las Vegas style entertainment in Abu Dhabi! MGM Mirage, one of the biggest casino companies in the world, and Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi, have teamed up to create the Mega Entertainment Project MGM Grand Abu Dhabi. The project will be located on the Abu Dhabi waterfront and take up 50 acres of land. It is expected to cost $3Billion and is projected to be completed by 2012.

MGM Grand Abu Dhabi will consist of 3 seperate hotels, an MGM Grand hotel and two other MGM themed hotels. Although there will be no gambling at any of these hotels there will be world class entertainment and numerous leisure offerings.

One major entertainment feature will be a 12,000 seat arena that will be host to A-List Las Vegas shows that appear at MGM's Las Vegas properties, as well as acts from the Middle East. The world famous Cirque du Soleil is expected to appear at MGM Grand Abu Dhabi as well as a great number of pop stars like Justin Timberlake who has already appeared in Abu Dhabi to standing room only crowds.

MGM Mirage will develop and manage the project for a fee. Mubadala Development, however, will actually own MGM Grand Abu Dhabi. The property, aimed at the high-end market, will have "unparalleled views of the city skyline" and "stunning panoramic views of the waterfront," the companies said in a press release.

This project will also offer elite waterfront residences, spas, high end shops, fine dining, etc. In short, everything you would expect to get in Las Vegas.

As good as all this sounds it is only the beginning. You see this is just phase one of a three phase plan for MGM Grand Abu Dhabi. The next two phases will offer more residential choices including luxury apartments, villas, condos and estates. There will be even more entertainment offerings and many other fabulous options that will be revealed as this project develops.

I think MGM Grand Abu Dhabi will be fantastic for Abu Dhabi and all of the UAE. It will help to make the UAE a world class entertainment and tourist destination. It will add glamour, exciting entertainment and an electrifying nightlife to Abu Dhabi. The world will come! 

Here is a link to Mubadala:

 http://www.mubadala.com/

This link takes you to MGM Mirage:

http://mgmmirage.com/

For more information on the UAE Mega Projects go to:

http://uaemegaprojects.blogspot.com
 

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• Dubai Buying Big Into Las Vegas Mega Projects...and Beyond!

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