DUBAI 4 Jan 2010 Burj Dubai, world's tallest building, opens

Burj Dubai will open as the tallest building in January after many postponements. The timing is unfortunate for the 2625-foot tower. Booming oil prices helped turn Dubai into Heaven for investors and playground for the ultra rich, but now the global economic downturn is buffeting the region. Property prices at Burj Dubai and in the surrounding developments have plunged. Analysts worry about the high debt the emirate has taken on to finance its explosive growth.

AFP reports the opening of the tower is unlikely to be pushed back again despite the string of bad economic news. Prices at Dubai's US $1.5 billion 1,539-room Atlantis resort, perched on the end of the Palm Jumeirah, the world’s largest man-made island, have dropped 50 per cent. The resort opened in December with a fireworks show visible from Space. Palm Jumeirah is 7 miles around, and other islands have been built or are under construction nearly. To construct the islands, rock is barged in from Oman, then covered with sand dredged from the Gulf.

Dubai is still publicly committed to projects that include a US $64 billion tourism and entertainment development called Dubailand. It features a cluster of seven theme parks built in the desert. A new international airport, which will be the largest in the world, is under construction. In October, Nakheel, the mega-developer behind Palm Jumeirah announced plans to outdo the 160-storey Burj Dubai with an even taller skyscraper called Al Burj. Many other projects are on hold because of the economic downturn.

Analysts quoted in the Wall Street Journal say the UAE's federal government would likely support Dubai, which lacks the massive oil income of Abu Dhabi, in case of a crunch. The support could be half-hearted by necessity: Concern is rising over the balance sheets of UAE banks, most of which are state-owned. UPDATED DEC/09

RELATED READING:

Burj Dubai web
http://www.burjdubai.com/

Engulfed state (CNBC Jan 2009)
http://cnbceb.com/country-regional-city-reports/engulfed-state/856/

Bahrain credit outlook is downgraded (WSJ 7 Jan 2009)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123125499455057397.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

From Kuwait to Bahrain, financial woes mount (AP 8 Jan 2009)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g5EWaiaF2NktDtqpGTVVDvk9VI0QD95J0SFO0