Travel
    Indebted Dubai puts on brave face for tower opening
    2010-Jan-5 09:15:48

    Indebted Dubai puts on brave face for tower opening

    Burj Dubai, the world's tallest tower, is seen during the opening ceremony in Dubai January 4, 2010.[Agencies]

    DUBAI - Dubai opened the world's tallest structure in a glitzy ceremony meant to put a brave face on crushing debt woes, leading some to wonder whether the tower is the emirate's crowning glory or its last hurrah.

    The $1.5-billion tower reaches up 828 meters (2,717 ft), 200 storeys into the sky. It surpasses the next highest inhabited building, Taiwan's Taipei 101, by more than 300 meters (1,000 ft).

    Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, renamed the tower Burj Khalifa in honor of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, ruler of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, which has bailed Dubai out to the tune of $25 billion in the past year.

    The bailout has fueled expectations that Dubai will make concessions or cede some commercial power to its wealthier neighbor, whose ruler is also president of the United Arab Emirates.

    Concerns about Dubai's $100-billion debt pile, which has made Dubai's stock exchange one of the world's worst performing, overshadowed both the ceremony and boasts by the builder, Emaar Properties, that the Burj heralds a new dawn.

    "The worry for Dubai is that the event will be remembered as a second bout of hubris," said David Butter, regional director for Middle East and North Africa at Economist Intelligence Unit.

    The first bout was in November 2008, two months after the collapse of Lehman Bros., when Dubai spent $24 million on the opening ceremony of the Atlantis Hotel, an event that did more to highlight a taste for extravagance than assuage fears that the economic crisis was not being taken seriously.

    Emaar says property prices have now stabilized, confounding wider expectations for stress in the sector.

    "You have to ask, 'Why we are building all this?'. To bring quality of life and a smile to people -- and I think we should continue to do that," said Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar, the Arab world's largest listed developer.

    "Crises come and go," Alabbar told reporters. "We build for years to come ... We must have hope and optimism."

    But investors took little heart, with Emaar shares closing down 3.4 percent, pulling Dubai's broader index 2.6 percent lower.

    "This is the culmination of Dubai's momentum, and not just Emaar's," said Saud Masud, UBS head of research. "It is probably the end of Dubai mega projects for the next several years as the emirate tries to rationalize its resources and looks to build the economy again in some way or another."

    PAYING DOWN DEBT

    In a sign that Dubai is trying to meet its obligations, DP World, a subsidiary of state-owned holding company Dubai World, said on Monday it had paid obligations on time tied to a sukuk, a sharia-compliant financial instrument, and a bond issue.

    Dubai sent shockwaves through global markets on November 25 when it said it would request a standstill on billions of dollars of debts linked to the state-held holding firm Dubai World and its property units Limitless and Nakheel, developer of three palm-shaped islands.

    Dubai World is expected to pitch a formal standstill proposal on its debt payments to creditors this month, while it comes up with a restructuring plan.

    The conglomerate has already moved to ringfence its profitable assets, and said its debt restructuring excludes firms on a "stable financial footing" such as DP World, Istithmar World, and Jebel Ali Freezone.

    The tower's opening has been delayed twice and, unlike other projects, survived cancellations after the crisis hit the one-booming city.

    Experts say land scarcity or urban density does not justify the height of the building. Rather, its monumental nature is a symbol of Dubai's ambitions.

    From the 124th-floor observation deck, viewers can see 50 miles on a clear day. The air is noticeably cooler and fresher on the terraces than in the stifling ground-level heat and humidity of Dubai's summer.

    Terraces are located at setbacks spiraling up the tapered tower, which is based on the "geometries of the desert flower and the patterning systems embodied in Islamic architecture," according to its promotional literature.

    [Jump to ]
    Nation | Biz | Comment | World | Celebrity | Odds | Sports | Travel | Health
    ChinaDaily Mobile News
    m.chinadaily.com.cn
    To subscribe to China Daily, call 010-64918763 or email to circu@chinadaily.com.cn
    亚洲中文字幕久久精品无码APP| 自拍偷在线精品自拍偷无码专区 | 久久久久久国产精品无码超碰 | 色婷婷久久综合中文久久一本| 国模无码一区二区三区| 国产成人无码av| 中文字幕亚洲综合久久| 国产 亚洲 中文在线 字幕| 国产av永久无码天堂影院| 亚洲av无码一区二区乱子伦as| 在线综合+亚洲+欧美中文字幕| 久久午夜无码鲁丝片午夜精品 | 日韩AV无码久久一区二区| 亚洲中文字幕丝袜制服一区| 中文字幕久精品免费视频| 国产精品无码无卡无需播放器| 亚洲AV无码乱码国产麻豆| 日韩精品无码人妻一区二区三区 | 内射无码午夜多人| 青青草无码免费一二三区| 亚洲成A∨人片天堂网无码| 中文字幕av无码专区第一页| 精选观看中文字幕高清无码| 中文在线天堂网WWW| 中文字幕在线亚洲精品| 中文字幕AV影片在线手机播放| 91精品无码久久久久久五月天 | 人妻中文字幕无码专区| 爽到高潮无码视频在线观看| 免费A级毛片无码无遮挡| 国产成A人亚洲精V品无码性色| 国产啪亚洲国产精品无码 | 精品久久久无码21p发布| 久久久这里有精品中文字幕| 无码中文字幕乱在线观看| 亚洲中文字幕久久精品无码APP| 人妻无码αv中文字幕久久| 久久亚洲春色中文字幕久久久| 天堂最新版中文网| 直接看的成人无码视频网站| 亚洲中文字幕无码日韩|