Great building booms underline confidence in the future

In the early 21st century the GCC States have become the scene of a rolling real estate boom thanks to the internal investment of higher oil revenues.

The first city to feel the benefit is Dubai, which now has 200 towers, 300 hotels, four offshore island projects, four giant shopping malls, and the tallest building in the world under construction; and development land for the next phase of the Dubai vision is selling strongly.

Doha was not far behind, and 80 towers, 35 hotels, one offshore island project, a shopping mall, and some tall buildings of architectural merit, are now under construction. Earlier this year Abu Dhabi entered the real estate building race with a multi-billion new city development.

$27bn Jeddah project

This week Jeddah announced the biggest single project so far: the $27 billion King Abdullah Economic City on a 35-kilometre shoreline close to Jeddah. This city will have six components: a seaport, industrial district, financial island, education zone, tourist resorts and a residential district.

Dubai based Emaar Properties is the prime developer, the largest single cross-border project in the history of the GCC, dwarfing the $3.5 billion Dolphin Energy project between the UAE, Qatar and Oman. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority can justly feel proud at facilitating this huge foreign direct investment.

Real estate development is also a statement of confidence in the future. The great cities of London, Paris, New York and Tokyo were all built at times of great wealth and self-confidence.

Huge self-confidence

Thus building great cities on the margins of the deserts of Arabia should be seen as a major marker for the future. In an era of higher energy prices, the great cities possessed of such energy resources or providing services to the energy sector are going to expand their physical infrastructure beyond recognition.

This is a bold and confident statement by the rulers of these cities, and a desire for a new future of peace and goodwill in the Middle East. If it was the terrible event of 9/11 that refocused regional investment back into the Middle East, this may also prove to have been the last stand for backward looking philosophies.

For nobody would spend billions and billions building exciting new cities in the Gulf States if they were not supremely confident about the future of their countries. This is great news for architects and contractors, but even better news for the people who live in the region. The Middle East is on the march forward and building a new future.