I guess I didn't realize what actually is going on over there. There are more construction workers in Dubai than there are actual citizens. The madness. Dubai is said to currently have 15-25% of all the world's cranes. The World Islands. 300 artificially created islands in the shape of the world. Each island will have an estimated cost of $25-30 million. It is almost 40% taller than the the current tallest building, the Taipei 101. The Al Burj. This will be the centerpiece of the Dubai Waterfront. Once completed it will take over the title of the tallest structure in the world from the Burj Dubai. That would make it more than 30% taller than the Burj Dubai and three times as tall as the Empire State Building. The Burj al Alam, or The World Tower. Upon completion it will rank as the world's highest hotel. The Trump International Hotel & Tower, which will be the centerpiece of one of the palm islands, The Palm Jumeirah. The UAE Spaceport would be the first spaceport in the world if construction ever gets under way.
Dubai's crazy, my friend's dad is a well-known architect in the Arab world, and before the market crash would go to Dubai all the time because there were so many new projects. It's incredible in how such a short time it went from this little, barely known city to a gleaming metropolis.
I've been to Dubai in the late 80s, 90s, early 00s, and right after the financial crisis. It was incredible seeing this rundown, dingy place turn into a futuristic city. However, by 2009 the place looked scarily quiet compared to the boom years. Have things already gone back to pre-2008 levels so soon? Good for them if that's the case.
Are they still planning on building all that? Weren't some of those projects halted because of the world's current economic situation?
The world Islands are sinking and on top there have been many academic articles about a civilization and building the world's tallest building as a sign of distress. Either way, Dubai really is booming but man is that gaudy
Watch out for Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. They're building their own humongous tower as well, the Kingdom Tower. A buddy of mine went to Dubai last year on his way to India, and he said Indian people are the Mexicans of Dubai.
The building has been scaled down from its initial 1.6 km (about one mile) proposal, which was never fully designed, to a height of at least 1,000 metres (3,280.84 ft) (the exact height is being kept private while in development, similar to the Burj Khalifa),which, at about one kilometre, would still make it by far the tallest building or structure in the world to date, standing at least 173 m (568 ft) taller than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Damn.
What do they do with all these buildings, are there actually people living or working in them? I know world trading center could have 100000 people in before it went down. So having so many huge building with a population of just over 8 millions for UAE seems like a waste of money to me, but what do I know.
I was there last year. It is quite Amazing. Great infrastructure, public transportation. You can just pop in directions on google maps and get around. Everyone speaks English. You get the best of both worlds. Qatar also is very similar. Although not nearly as gaudy. Feels much more empty than Dubai (which also feels quite empty at times). Jeddah/Riyadh, now those are cities that need the giant buildings and the population their can support it. Also, check out this massive tower/group of towers in Makkah. They say it is the worlds largest building. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraj_Al_Bait
This is old -- a bunch of that stuff is sitting and rotting -- the islands are already doomed and eroding away.
Actually, the Palm Islands are totally complete, and construction is still going on (in terms of new hotels on the Islands) It is quite a magnificent experience visiting those Islands.
