Burj Dubai

The world’s tallest building, the Burj Dubai, is set to open on Monday, as part of an effort by the sheikdom to get past a recent corporate crisis and strengthen its reputation and attraction as a regional and worldwide hub for business.

Burj Dubai, anchoring a $20 billion development, is set to open amid a gala of fireworks and a curtain of tight security, The Wall Street Journal reported. The opening coincides with the fourth anniversary of Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 60, coming to power in Dubai.

The building, with more than 160 floors, is said to stand more than 2,625 feet (800 meters) high but the developer, Emaar Properties, has not yet said how tall the final structure is, media reports say.

The No. 2 office building in the world: Taipei 101 in Taiwan, which is more than 500 meters high. Burj Dubai is also the world’s tallest structure, exceeding the height of a TV tower in North Dakota, and tallest free-standing structure, taller than the CN Tower in Toronto.

The Website says the building will have 900 residences on floors 19 through 108. The observation deck is on Floor 124. Sky lobbies on Floors 43, 76 and 123 will have fitness facilities, swimming pools and Jacuzzis. It has a hotel designed by Giorgio Armani.

“The possibility of repaying all bank loans in full was discussed as a medium-term possibility” in the talks held between the delegation and financial leaders in London, The National said, quoting participants.

Dubai sent its ruler’s uncle, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, who heads its Supreme Financial Committee, and his deputy Mohammed al-Shaibani, to London to discuss Dubai World’s debt problems, after asking last month for a six-month freeze on payments to allow parts of the group to be restructured.

“They made clear there were a number of options the government of Dubai saw as feasible and desirable for Dubai World and repayment in full was one of them,” said one participant, who requested anonymity.

The total outstanding debts of Dubai World subsidiaries that are to be restructured amount to 22 billion dollars after its property subsidiary Nakheel arranged to pay 4.1 billion dollars in bonds which matured last week.

Bank loans are estimated to amount to more than half that value, with British banks’ exposure believed to be more than five billion dollars.

Representatives of the lenders and Dubai World are due to meet on Monday in Dubai in the first formal session of talks aimed at resolving the company?s debt position, the Emirati newspaper said.

Dubai surprised world financial markets last week when it issued a last-minute announcement saying it will repay Nakheel’s maturing debt on time, defusing a crisis that raised fears over the emirate’s ability to pay debts.

The imminent debt was covered by a 10-billion-dollar bailout extended by Abu Dhabi, bringing to 15 billion dollars the oil-rich neighbour’s financial contribution towards sorting out Dubai’s debt problem.

The Abu Dhabi-based central bank of the United Arab Emirates also paid Dubai 10 billion dollars in February to help cover its debts after Dubai was hit by the global financial crisis.

Dubai’s total debt is estimated at between 80 and 100 billion dollars, with Dubai World’s debt amounting to 59 billion dollars.

A marine warning has been issued and the seas will be out of bounds for sailors and fishermen until Tuesday, according to forecasters. Waves up to ten feet are expected offshore.

The weather is expected to be partly cloudy, breezy and warm on Saturday afternoon and evening, with a maximum temperature of 25 degrees Celcius and a minimum temperature of 20 degrees Celcius.

The weather for Sunday is forecast to be partly cloudy and windy, but sunny on Monday and Tuesday.

On Friday, the low pressure system in the higher atmosphere over Bahrain and the east of Saudi Arabia moved over the emirate, causing rain in Sharjah, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain.

The Sharjah Airport recorded 0.9 mm of rain on Friday, while Dubai experienced lightning and thunder for a couple of hours on Friday morning.

Al Bayan newspaper carried the remarks which Gerald Lawless made in an interview with Forbes magazine, published on Friday.

“Jumeirah and Dubai Holding are part of each other and Jumeirah is not going anywhere,” Lawless told the magazine. “Dubai Holding will be fine.”

Dubai rocked global markets on Nov. 25 when it asked creditors for a standstill agreement on $26 billion in debt linked to conglomerate Dubai World and its two main property units, Nakheel and Limitless World. Dubai meets creditors on Monday.

Last week, the Gulf Arab emirate got a $10 billion lifeline from neighbouring Abu Dhabi, enabling it to stave off default on a $4.1 billion Islamic bond, or sukuk, issued by Nakheel.

Dubai Holding has about $1.9 billion of debt maturing in the first half of next year.

A planned merger between three of Dubai Holding’s property firms — Dubai Properties, Sama Dubai and Tatweer — and Emaar Properties was called off on Dec. 9 adding to uncertainty about the debts of Dubai state-linked firms.

Jumeirah Group, which manages the sail-shaped Burj al-Arab hotel in Dubai, manages eight hotels and has 14 more under construction.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai laid the foundation stone of the Jalilah Specialised Paediatric Hospital on Sunday.
The 200-bed specialist centre is located in the grounds of the Al Wasl Hospital and is set for completion in 2010.

“The hospital should be a sanctuary for children,” Sheikh Mohammed said, adding that it was “our national and humanitarian duty to provide sound healthy environment to them.”

The hospital is named after the leader’s daughter, Sheikha Jalilah bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

“This state-of-the-art medical institution constitutes a historic step towards updating comprehensive healthcare in the UAE,” said Saeed Al Murooshid, director of the Dubai Health Authority.

Following a few cases of food poisoning reported from Dubai, the most famous of which resulted in the deaths of siblings Chelsea and Nathan D’Souza last month, the Dubai Municipality has stepped up its inspection of restaurants and other eateries and advised many of them to improve quality standards. The municipality also recently conducted a food safety awareness campaign under the banner “Food Safety is our Priority”.

Small- and medium-size restaurants said they can improve by introducing new kitchen equipment. Speaking to Emirates Business, Sumesh Govind, Managing Director of a chain of Indian restaurants, Salkara and Calicut Paragon, said: “Restaurants in Dubai have been advised by the Dubai Municipality to instal new bane maries and chillers to keep food at appropriate temperatures. For a good restaurant with sufficient business, it is not difficult to invest Dh3,000 overnight to instal these kitchen equipment. However, it is a time of recession and restaurants are also affected. Business is down by 10 to 30 per cent and many small and medium sized restaurants cannot afford to make any investments now.”

He said such restaurants should get sufficient time to improve their kitchenware, as they may not be able to afford the cost of new equipment at present. Restaurants in the city are not gaining from the decline in rents or the fall in food prices, he said.

The Indian restaurant chain, which is celebrating 70 years of being in business back home, has managed to get a certificate from Khalid Mohammed Sharif Al Awadi, Director of the Food Control Department of Dubai Municipality. Govind said it requires an investment of Dh1 million to start a restaurant in Dubai and the group is planning to open new restaurants in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.

A Dubai Municipality source said inspectors had intensified quality checks in restaurants and cafeterias as a part of measures the body undertakes every summer.

“In summer, the frequency of inspections is increased because the chances of food poisoning is more, but the situation in Dubai is better than most other emirates. The current spate of increased inspections is only routine for the summer,” he said.

The Chinese restaurants in Al Qusais, which supplied the food that allegedly caused the death of the D’Souza siblings, and some other restaurants, have reported lower sales due to public concern about food safety.

A restaurant owner in Al Qusais, preferring anonymity, said: “It is not yet confirmed what caused the death of the children and whether the restaurant was responsible for food poisoning. But public sentiment is affected, and there is a drop seen in the number of customers across restaurants.”

A restaurant owner in Al Qouz area said: “Business is down by 30 per cent as many people have left. However, we are doing well and it is work as usual. We had to reduce the prices of certain items because our rivals have slashed prices to attract customers.

“We have reduced the price of a full grilled chicken from Dh15 to Dh10 because a leading supermarket chain in the area started selling grilled chicken for Dh10.”

He said the catch is in the quantity of chicken sold for Dh10, which is only 800g.

“We used to sell a 1.2kg cooked chicken for Dh15 and our competitor is selling 800g for Dh10. When customers flocked to the supermarket, we reduced our price and quantity.”

Meanwhile, many new restaurants are still being opened in different parts of the city.

“We had planned to open the restaurant sometime back and then the economic crisis started. But we decided to go ahead with the plan, because the food business is always a necessity,” said an Indian restaurant owner, who is opening a new outlet in Dubai.

A cafeteria owner said: “We had to introduce new kitchen equipment because our business demanded it. The price of this equipment varies between Dh3,000 and Dh5,000 and we have invested the money to keep our customers happy.”

The female camel was born on April 8, the Camel Reproduction Centre financed by the ruler of Dubai, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, said this week.

The first animal cloned from adult cells was Dolly the sheep, born in the U.K. in 1996. Since then, others have included mice, cattle, goats, rabbits, cats, mules and pigs.

"This significant breakthrough in our research program gives a means of preserving the valuable genetics of our elite racing and milk-producing camels in the future," Lulu Skidmore, scientific director of the Camel Reproduction Centre, said in an e-mailed statement.