Arch Bridge

Built either the ‘most expensive’, ‘the first’, ‘the highest’, or ‘the only’ structure. Now, in 2012, it will also become home to the largest and tallest……… arch bridge.

Artificial islands in the shape of the world, a 7 Star hotel, a real life Jurassic Park, if any real city on our planet can claim the leading spot in creating the urban landscape of the future, it’s probably Dubai.
Construction is set to begin next month and by 2012 you can zoom past on this “world’s largest bridge”. What’s more spectacular is that out there they always stick to their deadline date and unveil the most sought after structures ever.

Here’s some info on the bridge as envisioned by New York architecture firm Fxfowle:

* It’s one mile long and 670 feet tall.
* It will have 12 lanes for traffic.
* It will cost 817 million dollars.
* The design has Sheikh Mohammed’s official stamp of approval.
* The bridge will carry more than 2,000 vehicles per hour in each direction.
* A metro line will run across the middle.
* Construction begins in March, with a slated completion date of 2012.

Meydan (World's New Racing Era )

The latest Dubai megaproject, The World’s Biggest Racetrack, will have a capacity for 60,000 and a span of over half a mile. It’s an entire city built around “The Sport Of Kings”……horse racing.
The racecourse is already being hailed as the future horseracing capital of the world, given the infrastructure it plans for the industry. Unlike Ascot, Lexington or Newmarket, Meydan will in fact be an entire mixed use city development centered on the racecourse which will be the new home of the Dubai Racing Club and the Dubai World Cup.The word Meydan in Arabic describes a meeting place where people discuss, compete and achieve: an environment that encourages competition and co-operation to live side by side in harmony. It’s a man-made habitat created from scratch with lofty aspirations—”to promote excellence and fair play in sport, commerce and life”.


The landmark development is the vision of the remarkable Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and will span 76 million square feet and feature state-of-the-art dirt and turf tracks, while a world-class grandstand will boast a 55,000 to 60,000 capacity and span over half a mile.
It will feature a world-class hotel, more than 10 restaurants, the relocation of Godolphin Gallery, the home of Dubai Racing Club, a museum, as well as covered car parking for 10,000 and a 2.5 mile canal which will run from Dubai Creek to the racecourse.


The grandstand will also serve during the off-season as a major dining, business and conference facility.The target opening date is for the 2010 Dubai World Cup, and to mark its launch, the Dubai Racing Club has raised prizemoney for the showpiece race will be worth US$10 million to ensure the best horses in the world will be on hand for the opening.The racing facilities will be outstanding, but the venue has been designed to maximize entertainment all year around. It can stage conferences, concerts, functions, and carry on through the off-season. It will be a tourist attraction as well as a business community.

The Asia's first Legoland

Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB) will sign a deal tomorrow with the Lego Group, the Danish manufacturer of interlocking plastic bricks, to develop the theme park in Nusajaya.The theme park, an integral component of Iskandar Malaysia, will be Lego Group’s fifth after Billund in Denmark, Windsor in the United Kingdom, Carlsbad, California, in the United States and Günzburg in Germany.

The skyline of Iskandar is set to change once the 200ha project, with an initial investment of RM800 million, is completed.Legoland will be one of the three theme parks to be built in Nusajaya.Sources said IIB was negotiating with other global theme park players to set up operations in this economic region in southern Johor.They are Universal Studios and Disneyland.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will witness the signing of the deal between Lego and IIB.Legoland theme parks are built from Lego’s interlocking plastic bricks of different colours to create mini structures such as buildings and vehicles, among others. At the Cityscape property exhibition in Dubai in October, IIB managing director Arlida Ariff had been reported as saying that three theme parks were being considered in Iskandar.

“We have learnt from the Disneyland Hong Kong’s experience, which is operating with insufficient visitors and revenue. It is better and more appealing to operate a cluster of theme parks.“If Iskandar has only one theme park, visitors from Singapore may return to the republic the same day.

“We want them to stay at least one or two nights so that there would be multiplier effects on the economy.” The plan at Nusajaya is to have a core theme park and a few smaller theme parks. About 1,200ha have been set aside for theme parks, including supporting commercial developments.