Dubai fears the end of its 'build it and they will come' model

Can an economy fuelled by the vagaries of the property market reform itself?

The Dubai skyline, in the United Arab Emirates, remains dotted with dozens of cranes, but amid a second downturn in a decade many stand idle. Property prices are down by at least 25 per cent since 2014 and growth in gross domestic product decelerated
The Dubai skyline, in the United Arab Emirates, remains dotted with dozens of cranes, but amid a second downturn in a decade many stand idle. Property prices are down by at least 25 per cent since 2014 and growth in gross domestic product decelerated to 1.9 per cent last year, the emirate's slowest rate of expansion since 2010. PHOTO: REUTERS
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DUBAI • The shimmering Palace Residences apartment blocks will look out through palm trees, across calm creek waters lapping in from the Gulf towards what developers boast will be the world's tallest structure. The futuristic, rocket-shaped Dubai Creek Tower will be a "notch" higher than the Burj Khalifa, the current holder of that title, just down the road.

Off-plan sales of the Palace Residences were launched in January, with one-bedroom flats on the market for 1 million dirham (S$367,000), generating "significant demand". The plan is for the 6 sq km Dubai Creek Harbour to eventually house 200,000 residents.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 02, 2019, with the headline Dubai fears the end of its 'build it and they will come' model. Subscribe