No crisis, Burj Khalifa collects $280,000 in 3 days
By siliconindia   |   Friday, 15 January 2010, 15:00 IST   |    23 Comments
Printer Print Email Email
No crisis, Burj Khalifa collects $280,000 in 3 days
Dubai: It seems that the wealth is moving from the West to the East. In the first three day of its opening, Burj Khalifa - tallest building in the world, got a total of more than $280,000 from around 10,600 people to ride an elevator to the observation deck on the 124th floor. There is no question that Dubai's leaders are practiced in the alchemy of image. With all their recent troubles, they focused on completing this one 'iconic' project, as they like to call it. But with an estimated $100 billion in debt, a burst real estate bubble, disillusioned investors, a skyline defined not by one tall building but by a host of unfinished buildings, is that enough? The answer may be found nearby in International City, one of Dubai's less heralded but no less brazen projects. It stands now as an example of what happens when a housing market collapses, rents drop and those responsible for maintenance and services are short on cash and deep in debt. According to its website, the 2,000-acre development, which aspired to become the business and cultural hub of the Middle East has fallen far short of that. Traffic circles are now overgrown. Apartment buildings are almost completely vacant. Rows of storefronts are empty. Families say they feel stuck, unable to sell and frightened for their safety. There are reports of crime, and what was supposed to be a family neighborhood has been transformed into a place where companies house low-wage laborers. There are piles of construction debris, a flooded parking lot and street lights that do not work. A nearby sewage treatment plant emits waves of foul fumes. While no one has predicted that Dubai will become one vast International City. Financial analysts said that International City's problems did seem to represent the direction of things to come. Mammoth developments, like the Dubai Mall, with its shark-filled aquarium, ice skating rink, decorative fountain, a 22-screen movie theater and miles and miles of stores, need lots of people spending lots of money to finance the developments' debts. But those people, so plentiful in years past, are disappearing. If there is hope for Dubai, financial analysts said, it is in Abu Dhabi, the emirate that serves as the capital of the United Arab Emirates and sits on a large pool of oil. The emir of Abu Dhabi, Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, has already come to the rescue with $10 billion to pay immediate debts and forestall a financial collapse. But that may just forestall the inevitable. "The image of course will probably fade; it will not be as it used to be," said Amer al-Tameemi, an economic analyst from Kuwait. But perhaps not. Dubai's leaders learned long ago the value of image, of how large shiny objects inspire confidence. And it seemed to be working again, here in the shadow of the Burj Khalifa. There seemed a collective case of tunnel vision. No one saw or at least spoke of the stilled cranes bordering the tower. "I have not lost even 1 percent of my confidence in Dubai," said Mohana Kelkar after her husband, Prajash, took her picture. Ahmed Khalifa and his friend, Sultan Obeidy, joined the crowds, too. They both said that the building was great, but that even more important was the scene around them, where people from all over the world gathered in one place, free to celebrate together. "Dubai's success comes from risk-taking," said Khalifa.

siliconindia