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LETTER FROM DUBAI
DESERT
OASIS
Dubai’s location as a centre point between Asia and
Europe has played more in its commercial favour
than any of the iconic structures that have risen
from the desert sands, says Mick Martin (MSc 99)
whichiscurrentlythetallestman-madestructureeverbuilt,despite
thefactthatitisonlydueforcompletioninSeptember2009.The
official height will be close to 950 metres, which is just over nine
timesthelengthofCrokePark’spitch.Rightnowwearealsowork-
ingontheDubaiMetro,whichwhenfinishedlaterthisyearwillbe
thelongestfullyautomatedrailsystemintheworld.
TheleaderofDubai,SheikhMohammedbinRashidAlMaktoum,
has encouraged foreign investment within the emirate, and has
transformed the Dubai brand with associations of Arabian fantasy
andanadultwonderland.
Therealityisthattheemirate’smainrevenuesarefromtourism,
T
trade, real estate and financial services. Revenues from petroleum
HEtallestbuildingintheworld,thebiggesthotelintheworld, andnaturalgascontributelessthan6pcofDubai’sUS$37bnecon-
the largest shopping mall in the world, the tallest indoor ski omy. Real estate and construction, on the other hand, contributed
slopeintheworld–andallinthemiddleoftheArabiandesert. 35pc to the economy in 2008. While Dubai is certainly facing its
Itmaysoundlikeacliché,butDubailiterallyisanoasis. challenges within the current global downturn, and you may not
OneofthesevenemiratesandthemostpopulouscityoftheUnited havethesamelevelofdevelopmentasbefore,thereisstillsustained
ArabEmirates(UAE),Dubaiislocatedalongthesoutherncoastofthe growthinallindustrialsectors.
PersianGulfontheArabianPeninsula.Commerciallythelargestemi- Being a tax-free emirate, Dubai is an attractive proposition for
rateintheUAE,it’sactuallynotthecapital–thathonourfallstoAbu multinational companies. The Dubai government set up business
Dhabi. Its geographic location as a centre point between Asia and ‘free zones’ five years ago and today there is a strong core of listed
Europe has played more in its commercial favour than any of the Fortune500companieswithpresenceshere.
iconicstructuresthathaverisenfromthedesertsands. CulturallyyouarelivinginanIslamiccountry,andonecansome-
Having arrived with my wife in 2007, I’ve seen its physical pro- timesforgetthatduetothestrongwesterninfluences.It’salsoavery
gression on a monthly basis. After spending eight years working wealthy and safe place to live in, and the standard of living here in
within the 3D and construction industry in Canada, I had initially Dubai would be amongst the highest in the world. Living in Dubai,
imaginedDubaitobeacitywithaslower-pacedenvironmentthanI however,doeshaveitschallenges.Theweathercanreachover50Cin
wasusedto–howwrongIwas!Workinghereislikeanyotherlarge theheightofthesummermonthsandyoutendtospendyourdaysin
busymetropolitancity. aconstantair-conditionedenvironment.Youcouldcertainlyfryanegg
As commercial director for Corus International, I spend most of onthestoneshere–thoughitislikelytobeanItalianmarblestone!
mytimemakingsureIknowwhatnewdevelopmentsarebeingcon- With time has come a massive infrastructural change within
ceptualisedintheMiddleEast,andmakingsurethatwearepartof Dubai.Asrecentlyas20yearsago,thiswouldhavebeenseenasa
eachone.Workingwithintheconstructionindustryreallygivesyou hardshipregioninwhichtowork.Today,asanex-patworkinghere,
atruesenseofjusthowmuchcommercialactivityisreallygoingon Ifindmyselflivinginacityofconstantflux,whichseemstohaveno
withintheregion. limitsandnever-endingdevelopment–likeacraftsmanneverquite
AsweareownedbyTataSteel,thesecondlargeststeelproducerin finishedwithhismasterpiece.
theworld,I’vebeeninvolvedinthedevelopmentanddeploymentof
someofthemosticonicstructuresbeingerectedwithintheregion, Mick Martin is vice president of sales, international projects, for
never mind the world. One of the most notable is the Burj Dubai, Corus Kalzip Systems ME in Dubai.
40 UCD BUSINESS CONNECTIONS
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