Dubai Investment News
Dubai Municipality keen to complete 10 unique projects
Senior figures at the Dubai Municipality are keen to get the majority of ten major projects completed by the end of next year.Director general of the organisation Hussain Nassir Lootah hopes new initiatives like Dubai Safari and Dubai Frame will be open to the public as soon as possible.Altogether, the ten projects – which also includes souks, a new fish market and shopping complexes – will cost in the region of AED 883.5 million (£158.2 million) and have the potential to make a big difference to the city's tourism offerings.Dubai Safari alone is costing AED 150 million and it will be one of the finest wildlife parks in the Middle East, with all kinds of creatures being showcased at the complex. Dubai Frame, meanwhile, is a massive transparent structure that will be built in Zabeel Park at a cost of AED 120 million.Mr Lootah remarked: “The civic body is confident of accomplishing the two ambitious tourism projects, Dubai Safari and Dubai Frame, by the end of 2014, in addition to eight high-tech markets across the different areas of the emirate.”In addition to this, the Dubai Municipality is working on a Holy Quran Park and Maritime Museum, although these initiatives are still in their infancy.All of these new features will enhance Dubai's infrastructure, which is already among the best on the planet.There is so much for tourists to see and do and it seems that barely a week goes by without another impressive attraction opening in the city.A number of parks have been recognised by Guinness World Records, including the Dubai Miracle Garden – the largest natural flower garden on earth.Dubai welcomed a record number of foreign visitors next year and experts predict that 66 million people will travel into Dubai International Airport in 2013, with a sizeable proportion of these passengers being leisure travellers.With this in mind, it makes sense for investors to purchase hotels, villas and apartments in the city as soon as possible, as prices will continue to rise as more and more holidaymakers flood into the emirate. Continue reading
Lufthansa plans to increase Dubai flight capacity
Bosses at major German airline Lufthansa have hinted that the company could increase the capacity of its services between Europe and Dubai.The UAE is an increasingly popular tourism destination and is also an international business hub, so it is hardly surprising that the demand for flights to the Gulf has risen sharply among the German population.Carsten Schaeffer, Lufthansa's vice president of sales and services for south-east Europe, Middle East and Africa, said the company plans to up the volume of services to Dubai by 20 per cent this summer.He told the Khaleej Times that the extra flights will most probably leave from Frankfurt – which is one of the busiest airports in the world.”We might fly double-daily from Frankfurt to Dubai. So this is really a step up [in] the way we work,” Mr Schaeffer was quoted as saying.”In the UAE, we are in the phase of bringing in bigger aircraft and in Saudi Arabia, we are bringing in more frequencies.”He added that the Middle East is an important market and the firm's network will expand in this part of the world in the coming years.Lufthansa currently flies to Dubai from Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Vienna, while Emirates Airline – which is based in the UAE city – travels to four destinations in Germany.Dubai International Airport has grown in stature in recent years and is now the second busiest aviation hub on earth. Much of this rapid improvement has been down to the increasing number of European routes being added by UAE-based airlines.Indeed, Dubai Airports revealed last month that the biggest upturn in passenger numbers in March came from western Europe, as Emirates and flydubai introduced new services.There was also a 67.9 per cent rise in traffic from eastern Europe year-on-year during the month, thanks mainly to newly-established links to places like Poland and Macedonia. With the likes of Lufthansa planning to increase their presence in the UAE, it seems to be just a matter of time before Dubai International overtakes London's Heathrow as the busiest airport in the world. Continue reading
Dubai is the destination of choice for oil and gas workers
Oil and gas professionals from around the world still see Dubai as the best place to work.A new study by Rigzone has indicated that Dubai tops the list of cities with the brightest future, followed by Calgary, Denver, Singapore and Jakarta.The organisation asked 8,000 oil and gas professionals where they saw the best investment potential and it is clear that the UAE is the place to be.Of course, there are lots of things that need to be considered when moving to another country, especially for people who specialise in such a demanding and high-powered industry.Rigzone president Paul Caplan highlighted a few of the factors that oil rig and gas field workers need to think about.”Work-life balance continues to be a dominant theme. Energy professionals know there's a lot of hours put in, but there are just as many opportunities for extended time off,” he remarked.”Add in higher than average compensation and energy professionals have the time and the means to enjoy diverse, rich cultures found in some of the world's most exotic locations.”This explains why Dubai is such a popular choice among riggers. Not only is the city blessed with some of the largest oil and natural gas reserves, but it offers everything that workers could possibly need during their free time.The emirate has some of the finest villas, apartments and hotels on earth and is also full of world-class restaurants, clubs and upmarket retail outlets.Expats from countries like Bangladesh and the US have accepted jobs in Dubai's oil and gas sector in the recent past and there is every chance that thousands of other foreign workers will descend on the Gulf in the coming years.Dubai's economy has grown significantly in the past 12 months and experts predict the city's gross domestic product to expand by between three and four per cent by the end of 2013.Rigzone chiefs insisted the wealth generated by the lucrative natural resources sector has been used to create a “business-friendly and economically-diversified city”. Continue reading
