Dubai – where no mission is impossible

The first thing that greets you on arrival at Dubai’s ever-expanding airport is a mission statement.

It reminds you this is not just any country but one built on a vision. Dubai is easily derided as everything in it is man-made.

Commentators had a field day back in 2009, when Dubai’s build-and-they-will-come debt mountain nearly collapsed.

In a much-quoted Times article, “Jordan and Dubai, parallel universes collide,” the busty English model was compared with the Arab city-state because “both created extravagant success from virtually nothing,”

It went on to gloat that Dubai was “getting what it deserves” in a “hubristic, Icarus-style tumble [from power].”

There was indignation about the use of immigrant labour (“virtual slaves”) to build the skyscrapers and beach resorts, the dearth of political freedom and developers who dared to “ignore the rules and limits of nature.”

Not to be outmatched, the Guardian weighed in with its description of Dubai as “a concrete hallucination. A sarcastic version of Las Vegas [with a] skyline was dotted with gigantic whimsical behemoths.” (Admittedly, that writer confessed he had never been there.)

The Independent’s Johann Hari (since disgraced for plagiarism) added his pound’s worth: “The dark side of Dubai,” an equally descriptive, near book-length piece that was based on actual observation.

Spiked Online’s Brendan O’Neill has more examples of what he calls Dubaiphobia  – a phenomenon arising from a hate of modernity, economic progress and, most of all, “neo-liberal globalisation” that has created an urban environment in a desert.

What’s new
As you might expect, some two years later, Dubai hasn’t sunk into the sand and millions of foreign workers still flock there to enjoy the fruits of working and playing with others of like mind.

A brief visit last week showed the major changes since my last trip – an elevated metro, a Surfers Paradise-style marina, the Burj Khalifa, more mega-malls and the Palm resort archipelagos built into the Gulf.

It also showed the effects of the property collapse – many high-rise developments have been left incomplete until they get further financing, though I’m told the developers are under orders to complete the outside structure or face demolition.

Make no mistake, Dubai is still humming – all its hotels were full the week I was there – and it keeps wracking up the superlatives.

Among them:
• the Burj Khalifa is the world’s highest structure (you can see it in Tom Cruise’s latest Mission Impossible film);
• the adjoining Dubai Mall is world’s largest with 120 shops as well as an aquarium and underwater zoo;
• the Mall of the Emirates is nearly as big and has the world’s largest indoor skifield;
• the Burj Al Arab hotel that sits in the Gulf, resembling a large yacht, and still sets the world standard for luxury; and
• the pink Atlantis hotel, perched at the end of Palm Jumeirah

One Kiwi’s experience
Hundreds of expat Kiwis live and work in Dubai, along with others from virtually every country in the world that allows its citizens to emigrate.

One Kiwi, Dave Bradley, who runs the Dubai arm of networking and business consultancy Advantage Point, says he is getting business because the environment has changed from uncontrollable growth:

“The growth was so fast there was no need for research – until the bust. Clients would say if we knew any more about our customers we would not be able to cope.”

He is now coaching businesses on the need for customer research, welcomes the reduction of bribery and improved accounting practices, and finds the cost of being there has dropped substantially (some rents are down 40%).

He says Kiwis have set up successful distribution businesses in Dubai and around the Gulf, offering good avenues for those wanting to sell New Zealand goods into the region.

Dave has a book on the way, Selling and Business Development in the Gulf, which he says is aimed at putting all the information you need to know in one volume.

Flying high
Dubai has long modelled itself on Singapore, with centralised decision-making that is focused only on business growth and international expansion.

This has led to the creation of a group of companies that form the basis of a successful commercial hub centred on the Jebel Ali port, Dubai airport and the airline, Emirates.

The port company, DP World, is the world’s fourth largest operator with more than 60 terminals in 30 countries.

The city's international airport is about to open a third concourse to cope with Emirates’ fast-expanding fleet of A380 superjumbos and complement the new terminal 3. This airport is already reaching capacity at 51 million passengers last year (cf 4.3 million in 1990).

Meanwhile, some 60km away at Jebel Ali, I unofficially checked out the new Al Maktoum International Airport, also known as Dubai World Central. It is handling freight aircraft and the completed passenger terminal is ready to go but not yet open – a strange sight as it is situated in the desert with no one around when I was there.

It will be the base for Dubai’s low-cost carrier, Flydubai, which serves mainly the Middle East, Africa, Indian subcontinent and Central Asia, and other such airlines.

Emirates, of course, is going gangbusters with new routes being announced frequently and new aircraft arriving each week, mainly A380s and Boeing 777s.

These alone require the recruitment of 120 cabin crew a week, as well as pilots. Emirates employs people from 120 nationalities – probably a record for any organisation.

It now has more than 100 destinations, putting it second only to Lufthansa internationally, while Flydubai has just added its 48th – Najaf in Iraq.

A new Emirates route of interest to New Zealanders is Dublin, which was added in January to six destinations in the UK and another 19 in Europe.

Demand for Dublin has exceeded expectations and the daily flight will be upgraded to a 777 from July 1.

Other new routes include Lusaka (Zambia) and Harere (Zimbabwe) in Africa, Dallas-Fort Worth and Seattle in the US, Rio de Janiero and Buenos Aires in South America, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam (from June 4) and Barcelona in Spain (July 3).

Aviation is a steamroller business for the Arabs, with Emirates and its rivals, Etihad (Abu Dhabi) and Qatar, becoming the world’s biggest buyers of new aircraft as well as the most ambitious.

Emirates’ philosophy of creating a new routes and then building them reflects the greater Dubai “vision” and is in contrast to most airlines that stick to traditional thinking and have a habit of cancelling routes.