The Saudi government is planning four new cities, in its bid to diversify the economy and increase employment opportunities, has encouraged growth in the non-oil industrial sector.

The mega project was revealed in 2005 by Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the king of Saudi Arabia. As designed, the cities will have a total of four times the geographic area of Hong Kong, three times the population of Dubai, and an economic output equal to Singapore’s.

The coastal King Abdullah Economy City (abbreviated as KAEC; pronounced CAKE – Arabic: مدينة الملك عبدالله اللإقتصادية‎) is designed to house two million in an area twice the size of Hong Kong.

Entirely funded by domestic and foreign private investors, this is the only one of the four planned cities that is currently under construction.
With a total development area of 173 km² (66.8 sq mi), the city is located along the coast of the Red Sea, around 100 km north of Jeddah, the commercial hub of the kingdom.

The city will be the largest transportation and logistics hub in the Middle East and will be approximately an hour away from the holy Islamic cities of Mecca and Medina by car and an hour away of the 12 Middle Eastern capital cities by plane.

The city will be divided into six main components: Industrial Zone, Sea Port, Residential Areas, Sea Resort, Educational Zone, and a Central Business District (Find out more details on Wikipedia).

The total cost of the city is $26.6 billion. The first stage of the city is planned to be completed in 2010, while the whole city is going to be fully completed by 2020.

The city will help diversify the oil-based economy of the kingdom by bringing direct foreign and domestic investments. Based on initial forecasts, the project and its several components will create up to 500,000 employment opportunities for the youthful population of the country, where 60% of the population is under 15. (Source CNN)

Super rich and nowhere to go? The Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi has released the world’s most expensive holiday package, “The National” reports. For just $1 million (Dh3.67 million) a week, guests can enjoy a week long ultra luxurious holiday in ultra luxurious surroundings.

The $145,000-a-day package includes the hotel’s finest suite, first-class air tickets, a full-time Maybach luxury saloon with driver, daily spa treatments, day trips by private jet to Iran to witness the creation of a unique Persian carpet, to Jordan for a spa treatment with Dead Sea mud and to Bahrain for a deep-sea pearl dive. The pearl will be set in a custom-made piece of jewellery.

“The important thing to remember is that the trip is adaptable. If a person doesn’t want to go to Bahrain, or would rather ski for example, we’ll arrange a trip to Beirut or Iran,” Sehry Fassy, the director of marketing at the Emirates Palace said.

The guests will receive gifts worth more than $100,000 – including a pearl necklace for her and a gun from the English gunsmith Holland & Holland for him. But “No one has bought it yet. We’re waiting for the lucky winner,” he said

Gavin Samson, the director of Tri-Hospitality consulting, a company based in London and Dubai, said the super package would probably find a buyer.

“Nothing surprises me any more at all in this market,” he said. “I’m surprised that this is in Abu Dhabi and not in Dubai. That’s where the publicity and the headlines are hit with these ridiculous announcements.”

“It seems ridiculously expensive. Anyone who would do it would be doing it for the publicity,” he said, adding that the quest to be bigger, better and more expensive could get ridiculous. “But knowing the Gulf, the money is there and there’s someone who will want to do it.”

The offer is being made as an attempt to earn the hotel a slot in the Guinness Book of World Records, and part of the proceeds will be donated to charities in the U.A.E., the paper reports

Emmar Malls Group will inaugurate its mall – Dubai Mall- on 30 October 2008. The group claims that it will the largest mall in the region.

The Mall will cover 12 million sq ft of space, and is an integral part of the Downtown Burj Dubai development.

It will feature1,200 retail outlets, two anchor department stores and more than 120 food and beverage outlets. Adjoining is The Address, Dubai Mall, a 5 star premium hotel with 250 rooms and 450 serviced apartments.

In Dubai, they’re thinking big these days. Emaar Properties has unveiled it plans to build one of the largest fountains in the world with an integral light and sound show, as the centerpiece of its Downtown Burj Dubai project.

This new iconic feature will be one of the city’s major tourist attractions and is expected to draw over 10 million visitors annually.

At 825 feet long, the $218 million project will be 25 percent larger than the iconic fountains at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas.

Powerful water nozzles will shoot water sprays to heights of over 500 ft (150 metres) – equivalent to that of a 50-storey building.

Dubai heralded the new year as only it knows how to, by trying to outdo everyone on planet earth. As always, it had to be the biggest and best spectacular that anyone has ever seen.

Their attempt was to break the world record for a fireworks display.

Grucci, the fireworks company that created displays at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, was hired by organizers to create the world’s largest fireworks display – reaching as high as 1,000 feet reports UPI.

Via thedubailife

Designed and developed by Dennis Ingemansson, the Dubai Sea Limousine is an idea based on the “The World”- a man-made archipelago of 300 islands constructed in the shape of a world map and located 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) off the coast of Dubai.

Since access to all these islands, which are currently under construction, from the coast and also amongst themselves is only by water, this ambitious new taxi service seeks to become the sort of marine transportation between artificial islands.

Powered by sun’s energy, it comes with solar cells integrated in the window skin and moves forward with the help of a hovercraft.