Interview with Emaar's Mohammed Alabbar

Q. Emaar has announced very ambitious plans for the next few months. Is the company stretching itself too thin?

A. On the contrary, if we didn't do that, I don't think it would be fair to our shareholders. And I don't think we would be part of the successful, progressive city that we are from.

Emaar's philosophy - and the philosophy of Dubai - is very progressive, crossing the lines every once in a while, because we are surrounded by such a huge market. That's the only way forward today: to go and compete and take charge.

Q. Could you tell me more about these new projects and how they fit with the broader vision of Dubai's development.

A. Keep in mind that the city today serves a minimum of 1.5 billion people across the wider region. Tourism grows 11-12 percent a year. We have healthy population growth of about four percent. Every sector of the economy is growing. Yet, to serve this wider region, the irony is that you only have one true hub.

Imagine being in the United States and only having New York - and not Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington.

We are blessed in that we are the only New York in the region, but our region's size is three times that of America. So you must look to the future, and look forward. Does that mean taking some calculated risks? Yes. But the choice is yours.

Q. You're building the world's biggest shopping mall and tallest tower. Don't you see a risk of oversupply in Dubai?

A. You can tell me that it's oversupply - and I respect that - but not when it comes to this location, because it is almost in the heart of the city. I'm glad it's not in the heart because we'd have traffic issues. We'll still have traffic issues, anyway.

You can control your destiny because you're going to design one square kilometer, and more, to make it a statement to the whole world that this is the most valuable square kilometer in the world. Our objective is to make this the most valuable square kilometer on the planet.

Q. How would you make it the most valuable piece of land in the world? Do you have the right site? Do you have the right location? Will you master-plan it right? Will you have the element of humanity? Will you provide special services? Will you look at every single item from traffic studies to water flow to the details of your curbs? Do your parks have guardians? Where will the bicycles park? How will people live? What will children do? What's the total density?

A. You can build so much that you disturb the density of the place. We are in the Middle East, so we are designing the whole development in a very modern Middle East architectural style. It's everything from the feel to the look to the services. Then you need to provide accessibility for the whole development.

So why am I so confident? Because everybody on the team is so passionate about one thing: making this the best and most valuable square kilometer on the planet. Because of what I see in their eyes, I have no doubt in my mind that it's going to be just that.

Q. How much are you investing in these projects?

A. Close to 3 billion euros.

Q. Emaar is a real estate company with no experience in retail. Isn't moving away from your core competency a risk?

A. I believe that we're staying with our core competency because we're not going to operate shops. We will build the real estate.

Constructing any kind of building is no different from building retail space. To build a proper retail mall that will lift the stores, you need to hire the right architects, you need to get in a good team who will not only make sure that the layout is right, that the material is right, but also market it right, lease it right, then manage it right. We have that team onboard.

Q. But managing a shopping mall is different from managing a property company.

A. I managed a shopping mall for six years when I was in Singapore, so I come from the shopping mall business. The team that we assembled is a team that knows the retail business. If worst comes to worst, I'll come down from chairman to general manager of the largest mall in the world. It should be fun.

Q. When is Dubai Bank hitting the stock market?

A. That should be an interesting thing to look at. I'm thinking about that seriously. I think you're touching on a very interesting point. I think it will probably go in that direction.

Q, This year?

A. Yes. May 2004.

Q. Are you looking at expanding Emaar's capital for all these projects?

A. We are a cash-rich company with a very sizable capital base. Maybe if we were to go abroad, then we'd take a 50 per cent chunk and we'd go public 50 per cent. Today, though, the company's in quite good shape

Q. Where do you see Dubai going in 2004 and 2005?

A. What Dubai should do now is continue with the same philosophy, but adjust it a little bit. The region badly needs success stories. We have to spread the little knowledge that we have. We also have to spread awareness of our mistakes, so that others avoid them. We shouldn't slow down; we should be as aggressive as usual.

Q. What do you see as the potential risks for both Dubai and Emaar?

A. When you are doing well, you shouldn't take things for granted. It's good to be cautious, to look behind you, to look in front. But I really think that Dubai is going to be the region's hub. It will be one of the global hubs. It's time to move fast.

Q. Do you see any political risks?

A. I don't see any political risks. Not with all the reform that every government in the region is talking about.