DUBAI, 17 September 2005 — A group of Gulf investors announced yesterday the launch of a $1.9 billion real estate firm to pursue an ambitious tourist and residential project in Dubai.
A key project for Al-Burj Real Estate will be a residential and business complex near the Burj Dubai, projected to be the tallest building in the world at some 800 meters (2,500 feet) when complete, said a company statement.
The complex, an “urban downtown at the heart of the Dubai waterfront” called Madinat Al-Arab, is to include leisure, living and office facilities and will be “a symbol of Dubai’s meteoric rise,” said UAE Finance Minister Mohammed Khalfan ibn Kharbash.
“There has been a boom in the real estate sector and with the continuous economic growth, the demand for real estate will only further accelerate,” said Kharbash, who is also chairman of the Dubai Islamic Bank which launched the real estate firm.
Affluent Dubai, a member of the seven-strong United Arab Emirates federation, is in the midst of a construction frenzy, with resorts, malls and residential complexes sprouting across its desert sands and even in the sea.
The emirate aims to establish itself as the Gulf’s business and leisure hub.