The Pearl Qatar

The Pearl Qatar is yet another grand Island Mega Project of the Gulf. The Pearl, being developed by United Development Company (UDC) of Qatar, is a man made island being built at a cost of $2.5Billion off the coast of Doha, Qatar. The Pearl will have a Riviera style theme and is in fact being called The Arabian Riviera. Some of the features of The Pearl include:

- Riviera style living in luxury apartments , town homes, penthouses and villas,

- An international yachting hub with three marinas that will house 700 yachts,

- Three 5 star hotels,

- 2 million square feet of international retail shops, restaurants and entertainment venues of all kinds,

- A family destination with schools, parks, gardens, beaches and community facilities,

- Perfectly located just 20 kilometers from Doha's International airport.

From UDC, developer of The Pearl:

'UDC intends to make The Pearl-Qatar a unique living and cultural experience that integrates the best of the country's past and present. A primary objective is to incorporate a diversity of high quality living environments - from high-end luxurious villa living with private sandy beaches to fashionable apartment-style accommodation with sweeping sea views. Diversity and quality of accommodation is a key objective in the project's master planning.'

Upon completion The Pearl will house over 40,000 residents in 11 themed areas: Porto Arabia, Viva Bahriyah, Costa Malaz, Isola Dana, Abraj Quartiers, Perlita Villas, Giardino Villas, Quanat Quartier, Medina Centrale, Floresta Townhouses and The Villas.

Each themed area will present its own appeal. For example, Porto Arabia will be:

'The epitome of Riviera Arabia living, and home to The Pearl-Qatar’s main harbor, Porto Arabia combines elegant towers and townhouses in a spectacular location. The Island’s first phase is set around a colourful waterfront – La Croisette – a lively 2.5 kilometre pedestrianised concourse lined with fine shopping and dining, its architecture inspired by the best French, Italian and Spanish architecture.'

...and Viva Bahriya will be:

'Architecturally themed to echo the very best of the Maghreb – with Moroccan-styled town homes and apartments exuding Moorish elegance - it features a recreational central island crowned by a magnificent luxury hotel. A haven for watersports enthusiasts, whilst quieter than neighbouring precincts, there is never a dull moment at this enviable beachfront location.'

The Pearl, which should be completed by 2009, is Qatar's first freehold development and first international real estate project. It is the largest real estate venture in Qatar's history. Those who own property on The Pearl will be given Qatari residency visas and will be given unrestricted freehold titles to the property they own.

The Pearl Qatar is one of the most fabulous man made island Mega Projects of the Gulf and the greatest real estate venture in Qatar history. The Pearl will propel Qatar to further glory!

Here is a YouTube video featuring Sabban Towers, a development on The Pearl:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoBJdue_xRo&feature=related

This is a very short YouTube video featuring a scale model of The Pearl:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_zwknGA3NU

Here is a link to The Pearl Qatar website:

http://thepearlqatar.com/

This is a link to the UDC website, developers of The Pearl:

http://www.udcqatar.com/default.asp

Shams Abu Dhabi, Reem Island

Shams Abu Dhabi is one of the most magnificent mixed use residential/business/entertainment Mega Projects in the entire UAE. Shams will be an entirely self contained community located on the gigantic Reem Island in Abu Dhabi, which I have previously posted about. Shams is being developed by Sorouh and will take up about 25% of Reem Island and is estimated to cost $7Billion. Shams will contain over 100 skyscrapers! Furthermore, there will be about 25,000 residential units that will one day house 60,000, so you can see how huge Shams Abu Dhabi will be!

Shams will be divided into different districts including:

- The Canals. Retail and entertainment offerings of all kinds will be housed along these canal walkways. Water taxis will also be featured here that will act as a delightful transportation medium for getting around Reem Island.

- Theatre District. According to Sorouh, this district will provide a 24/7 entertainment destination that will attract visitors from all over the region and beyond. From Sorouh: "Cinemas and theatres will afford entertainment and stimulation for residents and drive business into nearby cafes, clubs, restaurants, bistros and retail outlets as well as specialty boutiques and other venues."

- Marina District. Designed to be one of the most luxurious yachting havens in all of the Gulf, this oval shaped district will attract the yachting elite from all over the world. The Marina will also provide transportaion to mainland Abu Dhabi.

- Sky Tower. This is one of the most beautiful skyscrapers I have ever seen! Sky Tower is a 74-storey combined residential and commercial property that will be: "equipped with extensive and state-of-the-art sports and leisure facilities as well as a community oriented shopping mall, it offers residents the opportunity to develop both their professional and social lives. At just 5 minutes from the city centre, it is perfectly positioned for premier living and business in Abu Dhabi," according to Sorouh.

- The Gate District. Made up of 8 of the most amazing buildings anywhere in the UAE, The Gate District is an architectural masterpiece. It will be a mixed use district offering luxury high rise residences, state of the art office space, world class hotels and shopping malls.

You can now see how incredible Shams Abu Dhabi will be. I think it will become a premier UAE destination attracting people from all over the Middle East and from other parts of the world as well.

Here are two great YouTube videos (also located in the sidebar of this site) so you can see Shams Abu Dhabi for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UXKb7HPWNU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoWev4K4Lhk

Here is the link to the Shams Abu Dhabi section of the Sorouh website:

http://www.sorouh.com/Developments/OurProjects/Details/?did=1

50 Richest Arabs!!

Every year ArabianBusiness.com publishes a great list called the 50 Richest Arabs. The wealthiest and most powerful Arabs in the world are all on this list, and many are in one way or another involved in the UAE Mega Projects. This list makes for great reading and I think all of you will be interested in looking it over. Here are the Top 10 Wealthiest Arabs in the World taken from the ArabianBusiness.com Top 50 list:

1 . Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud ($29.5Billion)/Saudi Arabia/Banking & Finance
2 . The Al Rajhi Family ($24Billion)/Saudi Arabia/Banking & Finance
3 . The Hariri Family ($17.8Billion)/Lebanon/Technology
4 . Nasser Al Kharafi ($12Billion)/Kuwait/Retail
5 . Maan Al Sanea ($10Billion)/Saudi Arabia/Construction & Industry
6 . Mohammad Al Amoudi ($9.2Billion)/Saudi Arabia/Energy
7 . The Bin Laden Family ($8.5Billion)/Saudi Arabia/Construction & Industry
8 . Abdulaziz Al Ghurair ($8Billion)/UAE/Banking & Finance
9 . The Olayan Family ($7.2Billion)/Saudi Arabia/Banking & Finance
10 . The Sawiris Family ($6.2Billion)/Egypt/Technology

Here is the link to the entire 50 Richest Arabs list at ArabianBusiness.com:

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/richlist/list?clr=

Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah

Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) wants to emulate Dubai! Who can blame them? So what do they do?? They develop their own gigantic island Mega Project to rival the Palm Islands of Dubai. This RAK Mega Project is called Al Marjan Island. In fact Al Marjan is made up of 5 man made islands, and yes Al Marjan will be just as impressive as the Palm Island developments of Dubai!

The 5 islands of Al Marjan will feature:

- Ten major hotels now onboard, with more to come.

- At least one marina complete with a marina village full of luxury condos and townhomes.

- A water themed park with attractions for the whole family.

- A variety of luxury resorts.

- A wide variety of villa residences including "floating villas."

- Shops and restaurants of all kinds as well as a variety of sports facilities.

- Business areas, etc., etc.

Directly from the developer of Al Marjan, Rakeen:

"Located 27 km southwest of Ras Al Khaimah town centre, the Al Marjan Island is the first man-made island project to be developed in the Emirate. The cluster of five coral-shaped islands extend over 2.7 million m2 and is worth over USD1.8 billion. Land reclamation is planned to finish by December 2007. Development completion is planned for June 2009.

The Al Marjan Island is designed to become a haven of luxurious living and an unparalleled leisure destination. This incredible development will comprise of waterfront homes, floating villas, hotels, resorts, sporting facilities and commercial areas."

Al Marjan Island looks amazing! It is right up there with the Palm Islands of Dubai! This Mega Project will do wonderful things for RAK and the rest of the Emirates.

Here is a direct link to Rakeen where you can see and read more about Al Marjan Island:

http://www.rakeen.com/projects/Al_Marjan_Island.html

The Blue City, Oman

The Sultanate of Oman, like the UAE, is experiencing phenomenal growth. And like the UAE, Oman has some truly amazing Mega Projects of its own. The greatest of these is The Blue City (Al Madina Al Zarqa). The Blue City is a gigantic mixed use development that will contain residential, business, commercial, leisure/hotel/resort, educational and medical properties and projects. The Blue City will cover 14 square miles and is located 60 miles from Muscat, capital of Oman.

The Blue City is an entirely new development and when finished in 2020 will house over 250,000 residents making it one of the largest Mega Project developments in the Middle East. The project, being developed by Al Suwaidi Investment and Tourism Company, is expected to cost $20Billion.

The Blue City will have over 9.3 miles of beachfront area which will be home to many spectacular resorts and hotels. This feature of the project will also make Oman a primary tourist destination. Oman is already known as one of the most beautiful vacation destinations in the Middle East. The Blue City can only enhance the vacation appeal of Oman throughout the Middle East and the rest of the world.

The Blue City will be formed of clustered communities with schools, a university, stadiums, two PGA golf courses, a marina, hotels, a concert hall, shops of all kinds and souks. The waterfront will be developed as luxury resorts. The architecture of The Blue City is a traditional Omani style designed to appeal to tourists as well. Foster + Partners of London have been hired as the official architects of the project.

Here is a quote from Foster + Partners relating to the many residential offerings of The Blue City:

"Each residential community will have its own identity. The apartment buildings will offer residents their own private courtyard and discreet car-parking. The material palette will comprise locally sourced stone and timber. Borrowing from the indigenous architectural heritage, the design is small scale, compact and organic. It is inherently sustainable through passive means, such as natural ventilation, careful orientation – to minimise direct sunlight and maximise ventilation - and the manipulation of the thermal mass of the buildings."

The Blue City is a truly grand Mega Project that will be the shining star of Oman and a spectacular addition to the Middle East!

Here is the link to The Blue City area of the Foster + Partners website. It contains many excellent pictures of the project:

http://www.fosterandpartners.com/News/321/Default.aspx

...and here is the link to The Blue City website:

http://www.bluecityoman.com/

King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia. Biggest Mega Project in the World!

Saudi Arabia, like the UAE, is experiencing a massive construction boom. Saudi is investing a staggering $637Billion in project development. Their biggest Mega Project is King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) which is, in fact, the BIGGEST MEGA PROJECT IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!! The total cost of KAEC is estimated at $120Billion! Even the UAE can't beat this one. However the UAE is still involved here. How come? Beacause KAEC is being developed by none other than Emaar of Dubai! Dubai has taken a very big interest in Saudi development and is investing heavily in this region of the Gulf.

KAEC is so huge that when finally completed it will house 2,000,000 residents and create 1,000,000 jobs. KAEC will contain 6 distinctive areas:

1. Sea Port

2. Industrial Zone

3. Central Business District made up of commercial businesses, hotels, retail stores and a financial island

4. Resort Zone

5. Educational Zone

6. Residential Communities

Some of the facilities will include parks, recreational areas, healthcare centers, a huge stadium, beach boardwalks, lagoons, monorails, skywalks, FIVE YACHT CLUBS, etc., etc.

KAEC is so big and so fantastic It may end up being the number one Middle East Mega Project...FOREVER! However knowing the UAE as I do I can't help but wonder if one of the big UAE developers already has plans to outdo KAEC!

Here are some YouTube videos of KAEC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28bzkDsdXfU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9r1PFWDMdU&feature=related

Here is a great photo of a scale model of KAEC:

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/8536/img1641ay1.jpg
(note that there is a magnification button in the lower right hand corner of this pic)

This is a link to the KAEC website:

http://www.kingabdullahcity.com/en/

This link is to Entaj, which is a kind of industrial version of Silicon Valley that will be part of KAEC:

http://www.entaj.com/

Dubai Marina

The Dubai Marina is one of the premier Mega Projects being developed by Emaar, the largest real estate developer in the world. Dubai Marina is one of the world's largest master planned waterfront developments and will cover an area of over 50 million sq ft, contain more than 200 apartment towers and other luxury residences, and once complete be home to over 70,000! It is being called the Emirate's version of the French Riviera.

Amer Belshelat of Emaar had this to say about Dubai Marina:

"It is only once you step within the community that you realise it is a waterfront city within the city with stores, entertainment, boat club, restaurants, endless amenities, a two-million dollar musical fountain- the only one of its kind in the country- and much more."

One of the many features of Dubai Marina is the Marina Walk, an upscale promenade featuring many fine dining restaurants and some of the most exclusive shops in the world. As Mr. Belshelat of Emaar states:

"Dubai Marina is all about lifestyle, this yachters paradise has been designed for luxurious living and relaxing. It is a place where people can refresh themselves after a hard days work."

Furthermore:

"Let me try to sum up Dubai Marina: Beautiful promenade, awesome sunsets, incredible ocean-front real estate and super fun restaurants. This place is where charm, variety and convenience truly come together. Everything you need for carefree daily living is near at hand, right within your neighbourhood. It's the urban waterfront lifestyle you've dreamed about."

Wow! Dubai Marina is undoubtedly the ultimate in waterfront living in the Middle East. In fact, I think this Mega Project will offer the best waterfront living anywhere in the world. Emaar is once again doing a superlative job with the development of Dubai Marina.

There are several YouTube videos of Dubai Marina in the sidebar of this site. Here is the Dubai Marina website link:

http://www.dubaimarina.ae/

This link takes you directly to the Dubai Marina section of the Emaar website:

http://www.emaar.com/Developments/DubaiMarina/

Mina Al Fajer Resort, Fujairah

Mina Al Fajer Resort is a new $200Million Mega Project being developed by Mina Al Fajer Real Estate LLC and will be located in the Emirate of Fujairah. The resort will be built in a beautiful area of the Hajar Mountains exactly where the sea and mountains meet. According to Mr. Abdulrahman Al Awar, Director of Development:

"The philosophy was to develop a property that will preserve the unique charm and heritage of the location while providing a contemporary and luxurious twist. The result is a spectacular mountain resort with a superb sea-front that will include a marina, 48 mountain villas, 13 solarium villas, and 80 marina apartments, in addition to a five-star hotel to be managed by Fairmont."

The overall vision for the project is to "maintain strong connections between the water, sand, mountain, sun and the sky - resonating clearly with the Emirate's topography," continued Mr. Al Awar.

Mina Al Fajeer Resort is the first major luxury resort to be developed in Fujairah. More are expected to follow as this Emirate is undergoing a real estate development boom. Beacause of the importance of this project to Fujairah:

"We have commissioned renowned designer Xavier Bole to create the entire concept of the property and Erga Progress to design and help us supervise the construction and implementation of the project. These are some of the biggest and most prestigious names in the industry; their experience and expertise will help ensure the project is built in accordance to world-class quality standards," added Mr. Al Awar.

The completion date for Mina Al Fajer Resort is scheduled for the end of 2009. This UAE Mega Project will place the Emirate of Fujairah on the fast track to becoming a world class destination.

Here is the link to Mina Al Fajer where you can find out more:

http://minaalfajer.ae/