When I moved to Dubai Marina four years ago, there were signs dotted all over the place bearing a marketing slogan: “The Heartbeat of a New City”. But this new city is in danger of having a coronary. Its arteries are clogged, stress levels are off the charts and there’s seemingly no cure in sight for its chronic condition. If Dubai Marina were a human being, it would have been rushed into intensive care months ago for a bypass operation.
This descent into poor health has been relatively swift. When I landed here, I was happy in my new home. Despite construction work going on in most parts of the Marina, getting around was never really that much trouble.
Over those four years, things became progressively more difficult for anyone driving around the area, but we all thought it would eventually be OK. We knew these were growing pains; the Marina’s increasingly clogged arteries – its roads – would soon operate like new again, thanks to the opening of the Dubai Tram – an incredible feat of modern engineering that would bring transport diversity to this part of the city.
In November last year, the roads once again became usable and the jams eased. The tram had been pressed into service and all was good in Dubai Marina. This newfound joy lasted just a few weeks, however, before things became worse than ever. In the eyes of residents and motorists alike, the tram has caused more problems than it has solved.
The difficulties really came when five left- and U-turns intersecting the tramline were closed with no warning – some with concrete blocks, some without. Anyone mistakenly taking a left turn onto certain roads (the old direction signs telling you to turn left are still in place) faces a fine and black points. Confusion is rife. Signage is nowhere near adequate and police officers are at every junction ready to jot down the numbers of anyone making an honest mistake. I know; I’ve been one of them.
So in the city of U-turns, here you’re no longer permitted to make them. To get from Sheikh Zayed Road to my building used to take no more than a couple of minutes; now it can take up to an hour, thanks to a forced detour all the way to Jumeirah Lake Towers and back, where I inevitably join a sea of queuing traffic. Fortunately for me, I rarely use my car to commute these days, but for everyone reliant on personal transport for work – including my wife – it has reached the stage where they wonder how much longer they can go on like this.
Residents are taking to Twitter to vent their anger and express frustration regarding new, unacceptable levels of noise pollution, caused by motorists leaning on their horns because of the gridlock, even in the early hours of the morning.
Now that I work in Media City, I have three transport choices to and from my office. I can walk (six kilometres/50 minutes either way), take the tram (at least 30 minutes) or use the roads. The last option can take up to an hour, so the car remains unused. Now that temperatures are climbing, walking is less appealing. So the Dubai Tram it is, then.
I’m one of the lucky ones, though. For the vast majority of Dubai Marina residents, life has simply become unbearable through no fault of their own. If that “heartbeat” is to continue for much longer, drastic surgery is required. No bypass required – just get those arteries unblocked by opening up every possible route. Then this city just might be able to breathe again.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
more from Janine di Giovanni
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE'S%20YOUNG%20GUNS
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Indian origin executives leading top technology firms
Sundar Pichai
Chief executive, Google and Alphabet
Satya Nadella
Chief executive, Microsoft
Ajaypal Singh Banga
President and chief executive, Mastercard
Shantanu Narayen
Chief executive, chairman, and president, Adobe
Indra Nooyi
Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The biog
DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Sweet%20Tooth
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Results
Catchweight 60kg: Mohammed Al Katheeri (UAE) beat Mostafa El Hamy (EGY) TKO round 3
Light Heavyweight: Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) no contest Kevin Oumar (COM) Unintentional knee by Oumer
Catchweight 73kg: Yazid Chouchane (ALG) beat Ahmad Al Boussairy (KUW) Unanimous decision
Featherweight: Faris Khaleel Asha (JOR) beat Yousef Al Housani (UAE) TKO in round 2 through foot injury
Welterweight: Omar Hussein (JOR) beat Yassin Najid (MAR); Split decision
Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) beat Sallah Eddine Dekhissi (MAR); Round-1 TKO
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammed Ali Musalim (UAE) beat Medhat Hussein (EGY); Triangle choke submission
Welterweight: Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) beat Sofiane Oudina (ALG); Triangle choke Round-1
Lightweight: Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Saleem Al Bakri (JOR); Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ali Taleb (IRQ) beat Nawras Abzakh (JOR); TKO round-2
Catchweight 63kg: Rany Saadeh (PAL) beat Abdel Ali Hariri (MAR); Unanimous decision
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Draw
Quarter-finals
Real Madrid (ESP) or Manchester City (ENG) v Juventus (ITA) or Lyon (FRA)
RB Leipzig (GER) v Atletico Madrid (ESP)
Barcelona (ESP) or Napoli (ITA) v Bayern Munich (GER) or Chelsea (ENG)
Atalanta (ITA) v Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Ties to be played August 12-15 in Lisbon
MATCH INFO
Watford 2 (Sarr 50', Deeney 54' pen)
Manchester United 0
ILT20%20UAE%20stars
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
THE%20SPECS
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