The Banks That Hadn’t Learned Their Lesson
Dubai Developments: Ecological Disaster that Backfired Financially, Too
Camel Market no Place for Horse Jockeys
Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange plunged 7.4% in early Monday trading due to ongoing Dubai debt crisis, while Dubai saw a further 6% fall in its market. The fall came after Dubai’s property developer, Nakheel, requested that trading of its Islamic bonds to be suspended.
Last week, the state-owned Dubai World asked for an extension to repay its debts. It’s not known where they’ll get they money from. The property market is stagnant and prices have fallen substantially.
Dubai, UAE: A sleeping fishing village transformed to a center for Mega Pollution. Public Domain Photo.
Dubai today: A concrete jungle filled with phallic symbols. CC license.
Financial Fact about Dubai Financial Meltdown:
- Dubai’s total debt: up to $100 billion
- Dubai World debts: about $64 billion (of the above)
- International Bank’s exposure to Dubai World: possibly as high as $20 billion
Now, the English translation of a poem by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the Emir [minor king] of Dubai.
Take wisdom from the wise
It takes a man of vision to write on water
Not everyone who rides a horse is a jockey
Great men rise to greater challenges
FEWW Comment:
The Foolish horse jockeys ignored the wise Emir’s advice
Polluting the Gulf water to its depth
And water washed their hoof-prints off
Before the stupid banks could get their money back
Nakheel’s Grand Wet Dream. Nakheel Image may be subject to copyright.
On its website, Nakheel says: “Nakheel is the force turning the vision of Dubai into reality. When complete, projects such as the Palm Trilogy, the World and Waterfront will add more than 600 miles of beachfront to the Dubai coastline and cover over 2 billion sq ft. Nakheel’s 1800 employees are delivering US$60 billion of iconic developments, driving thought leadership, pioneering innovation and creating a legacy for generations to come.” [A legacy for the next generation indeed.]
Elsewhere on its website Nakheel “the Master Developer of Dubai” prophesizes:
“The Palm Jebel Ali is a landmark commercial, residential and tourism development for Dubai, which, along with the Waterfront project, will transform an area of empty desert and sea into a bustling international community, with an estimated population of 1.7 million people by 2020. ”
[No doubt all the sewage will be diverted to Saudi Arabia, to save the Gulf ecosystems from total collapse.]
The Palm Jumeirah
Palm Island Resort, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is featured in this image photographed by an astronaut from the space station, while the resort was still under construction off Dubai’s Persian Gulf coast. Advertised as “being visible from the Moon,” this man-made palm-shaped structure displays 17 huge fronds framed by a 12-kilometer protective barrier. When completed, the resort will sport 2,000 villas, 40 luxury hotels, shopping centers, cinemas, and other facilities, supporting a population of approximately 500,000 people. Image and caption: NASA. Edited by FEWW.
Nakheel’s Marina Residences, Palm Jumeirah. Ugly ecological nightmare. Not a single unit sold. Photo: Nakheel. Image may be subject to copyright.
Why Dubai Developments Are a Major Ecological Disaster
- Could you even imagine an additional 1.7 million people living in one of the most fragile ecosystem in the world?
- What would their environmental impact be like?
- Where would they get their food and water from?
- How about traveling, commuting, shopping and entertainment?
- Where would an estimated 3 million tons of sewage end up each year?
- How about 400 billion tons of gray water annually?
- How will they dispose an estimated 2 million tons of solid municipal waste each year?
- [That’s a mountain of garbage equivalent to 7 times the volume of Great Pyramid of Giza. ]
- An estimated 1,500,000 cars, trucks and other vehicles.
- An estimated 500,000 sailing boats, powerboats, yachts, ski jets…
Palm Jebel Ali
The prices of properties being sold on the Palm Jebel Ali reportedly fell by 40% in September – November 2008, with the fall being attributed to the Financial crisis. The truth is there are only so many fools prepared to buy a property off the coast of Dubai for at least 5 reasons [to be discussed at another time.]
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On April 18, 2011, the Moderators discovered that this page had been hacked with some of the information and one image removed.
Fire Earth 
