Couple of articles on Dubai in the (London) Sunday Times today.
The first one starts off very positively, but then gets into the things we don't see too much of in the Sandland newspapers, like censorship, workers non-rights, prostitution, fear of deportation...
The second is about The Lighthouse apartment tower, a disaster for everyone involved. The owner/developer, Emad Ayoub, did a runner leaving stranded unpaid workers and investors who'd bought off the plan and paid up-front. And a lot of other projects around town that he was a contractor on. They seem to have been taken over by other contractors, but The Lighthouse was/is his own development.
The investors have been negotiating with the government, they say, and they've kept it out of the press until now. I guess they've gone public in frustration.
Not good in any way for Dubai, which has to be seen as a trustworthy place to do business. This sort of comment from an investor isn't going to help:
“We chose Dubai because Sheikh Mohammed (the emirate’s ruler) assured western investors their money would be safe. It’s time for Dubai to show that foreign buyers have rights and are protected when things go wrong.”
The articles make interesting reading - you can find them here:
Dubai's Building Frenzy
Lighthouse
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2 comments:
I'm amazed The Lighthouse owners have kept quiet on this for so long. I see AMEInfo has picked up the story in the Times; it will be interesting to see if other local media follow suit.
Dubai has been far too slow getting its property law in place and as a result has put purchasers at huge risk for far too long. If they don't handle The Lighthouse case carefully they risk a PR disaster.
Another increasing problem to deal with as property handovers gather pace will be construction quality issues. Jumeirah Islands got a lot of bad press last year and there are plenty of rumours around that even premier projects such as the Palm are suffering from rushed schedules, cost-cutting and inexperienced contractors.
nemesis, it's a bit too compicated to go into here. Let me have your e-mail address and I'll get back to you with some answers.
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