The aAgency gave a briefing on the massive investments made by the RTA for providing marine mass transit services and singled out Ferry Dubai which will serve The World and other ?development projects of Nakheel, said Al Zahid.

A joint team was formed with members from RTA and The World to explore means of providing marine conveyance to The World, and the technical team will hold weekly meetings to ensure delivery of the assigned tasks ?on due time.

“At the end of the day this drive is bound to provide easy access and smooth mobility of inhabitants and visitors across the emirate of Dubai, particularly in waterfronts such as The World,” he pointed out.

The Palladium made for international and entertainment events. The Palladium is the newest and most flexible venue of Dubai is worth $68mn (Dh.220mn). The Palladium is planned to have a soft-launch in March 2009. The venue will prove to be a model for a new generation of combined entertainment venues worldwide.

The Palladium is a dream-come-true for Raymond Gaspar, an entertainment and media entrepreneur. It is the first-of-its-kind multipurpose venue in the region for entertainment and events. The facilities here are unique, with a capacity to stage theatre, musicals, concerts, circus, opera, ballet, cabaret, exhibition, conferences, seminars, launches, award shows, banquets, sporting events, festivals, sporting events, weddings and cocktail parties.

Raymond Gaspar, General Manager of The Palladium, said, “This unique venue can be set-up in a variety of creative ways to suit your event theme and size. We will provide all the elements to facilitate the work of promoters and event organisers to produce world class events at The Palladium”.
The Palladium is designed with a seating capacity of 3000 for retractable seating, 4000 for mixed seating and standing, and 5500 for standing and 1500 for banqueting. In addition, the main auditorium offers 2500 square metres of open space for exhibitions and concerts. The stage is the biggest in Middle East with a width of 25metres and depth of 16 metres.

It also includes seven private Skyboxes with 12 plush seats and dedicated butler. There are two corporate hospitality areas of 200 square metres each, facing the auditorium.

The Palladium is also in the process of developing integrated high-class food and beverage outlets and a club environment, open throughout the day, the complete details of which, will be unveiled soon.

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, Chairman, Dubai Land Department has inaugurated the International Property Show – Dubai 2009, the biggest transactional property exhibition in the region on February 15, 2009. The show has on display exceptional real estate development projects from across the globe that are seeking to leverage the high attendance of international and regional investors at the annual industry event.

HH Sheikh Mohammed said, “Dubai will be the fastest city to recover from the impact of the ongoing credit crunch, and the emirate’s real estate sector will once again witness a period of long term boom. The impressive participation of players at the ‘International Property Show – Dubai 2009′ underlines the high confidence in the UAE’s property sector.”

Strategic Marketing and Exhibitions (SME), the event organizer, has revealed that the show that will run until February 17, 2009 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, is set to capitalize on the shift in property prices in Dubai, as well as the projected rise in the number of expatriates in the emirate in 2009.

Its graceful, asymmetric diagonal structure, known as a ‘diagrid’, supports the tilting external load of the building and we believe that this is the first building in the world to use a pre-cambered core. Other diagrid buildings include the Hearst Tower in NYC and the “Gherkin” in London.

Besides being believed to be the ‘world’s most inclined’ building, Capital Gate also features 728 unique custom-made diamond-shaped glazing panels. Due to the structure’s curving shape, each pane of glass is different and each will be fitted at a slightly different angle.

Al Sufouh Tram will become operational in 2012, complementing Dubai Metro with an equally trendy and comfortable mode of public transport.

Construction of the first phase of the ambitious project has started, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said on Tuesday.

The project, costing nearly Dh4 billion, is one of the most important projects of the RTA after Dubai Metro and will be completed by 2012, it said.

If the Dubai Metro stations look stunning with their seashell shape, stations of the Al Sofouh Tram will feature a unique diamond-shaped front design. The consortium of the France-based Alsotam and Belgium-based Besix has started construction work, Mattar Al Tayer, RTA Chairman, said.

Apart from the consortium, US-based Parsons and France-based Sistra are also engaged in the project.

The tram track will be laid along Al Sufouh Road but will have elevated sections in some areas of Dubai Marina.

The track will be parallel to Dubai Metro’s Red Line. Three tram stations will be linked with three metro stations on Shaikh Zayed Road via footbridges for passengers to change the mode of transport according to the destinations they want to go. Al Sufouh Tram will be linked to the Palm Monorail at the entrance of Palm Jumeriah from Sufouh Road for passengers travelling between the areas served by both projects.

The project will serve residential and commercial areas in Al Sufouh, Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence, the official said.

The tram will have a golden carriage (first class), a silver carriage for common people and another carriage for women and children.

Carriages will have top-class interiors and will be fitted with the latest data transmitting and display systems.

A modern and safe ground power cable system will supply power to the tram, and all stations will be fitted with central air-conditioning systems.

The Dh14.7 billion cornerstone project of Dubailand is a 50 million sq ft mixed-use development that is being built around five major sports venues and features an academies campus.


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VENUES

Cricket: Seat Capacity 25,000

Multi-Purpose Outdoor: Seat Capacity-60,000. Sports – Rugby, football, track & field events

Multi-Purpose Indoor: Seat Capacity-10,000. Sports – Basketball, indoor hockey, volleyball, handball, netball, and ice hockey. Will also act as a entertainment center for concerts and shows

Out Door Hockey Field: Seat Capacity-5,000

The Dunes Golf Course: Redefining world-class golf, the focal point of Victory Heights is The Dunes, an 18-hole signature course designed by golf’s international ambassador, Ernie Els.

ACADEMIES CAMPUS

The academies campus will house football, swimming, rugby and hockey academies as well as the ICC Global Cricket Academy, the Butch Harmon School of Golf and the David Lloyd Tennis Academy.

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International sporting events are scheduled to take place at the DSC cricket stadium in the first half of 2009 while the World Hockey Academy will be handed over in March 2009, with the initial focus on delivering the Asia Cup hockey tournament in the first week of May.

The next facility to open will be the Football Academy and ICC Global Cricket Academy towards the end of the second quarter, followed by swimming, rugby and a High Performance Center.

All academies will begin offering programs and courses in 2009.

The campus has been designed in such a way that all academies are connected and within walking distance of each other to make the integration of each facility for the athletes easy and functional.

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Each of the academies offers something new to the region. For instance, the Butch Harmon School of Golf is using a ground-breaking digital-based software programm that has been specifically developed for golfers as a communication tool for coaches to improve the techniques of golfers of all levels.

According to the DSC when all facilities of the academies campus are taken into consideration, the total cost comes to approximately Dh500 million. The basis of the DSC’s business utilization model will be participation in grassroots, development and elite-level coaching and training programs and competitive leagues.

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As the key to any business venture is to offer a unique range of products and services the DSC’s business model is not only to offer sports coaching, events, science and medicine services at all levels of sports, but to engage in the education of all the disciplines which adds to the uniqueness of the vision of its shareholders and business offering.

History shows that talent comes from places and people that are at times totally unexpected. So our learning environments will be structured and professional, which will become a haven for nurturing talent in the region and allowing it to develop and grow.”

VIDEOS

“Hydropolis is not a project; it’s a passion,” enthuses Joachim Hauser, the developer and designer of the hotel. His futuristic vision is about to take shape 20m below the surface of the Persian Gulf, just off the Jumeirah Beach coastline in Dubai.

The £300m, 220-suite hotel was due to open by the end of 2006 but has experienced delays and is now scheduled to open in 2009. It will incorporate a host of innovations that will take it far beyond the original blueprint for an underwater complex worthy of Jules Verne.

The original idea for Hydropolis developed out of Hauser’s passion for water and the sea, and goes much deeper than just building a hotel underwater. More than just curiosity, it is a commitment to a more far-reaching philosophy. “Once you start digging deeper and deeper into the subject, you can’t help being fascinated and you start caring about all the associated issues,” he explains. “Humans consist of 80% water, the earth consists of 80% water; without water there is no life.”

In order to enter this surreal space, visitors will begin at the land station. This 120m woven, semicircular cylinder will arch over a multi-storey building. On the lowest level passengers board a noiseless train propelled by fully automated cable along a modular, self-supporting steel guideway to Hydropolis. The upper storeys of the land station house a variety of facilities, including a cosmetic surgery clinic, a marine biological research laboratory and conference facilities. On the lower levels are the staff rooms, goods storage and loading areas, and hotel and parking areas.

The land station also includes a restaurant and high-tech cinema screening the evolution of life in the ocean and the history of underwater architecture. As a finale, the screen will open to reveal the real-life Hydropolis. A viewing platform at the front opening of the spanning roof will allow views of the architecture as well as the light shows of Hydropolis.

Hauser plans to incorporate many different elements associated with the sea. The cosmetics will be ocean-based, the cinemas will screen films that focus on aquatic themes and a children’s seaworld will educate as well as entertain.

He views his creation as a place where those who do not dive – or do not even swim – can experience the tranquillity and inspiration of the underwater world. “We are expecting around 3,000 visitors a day in addition to the hotel guests. The aim is to inspire people to develop a new awareness of the sea.”

Here is the Video of Hydropolis Dubai Underwater Hotel Project