Dubai Developments Focus on Health and Environment

Robert Hamilton
For Al-Shorfa.com
2008-08-28

$4.4 billion worth of projects devoted to “eco-friendly living” and “wellness,” will be earmarked by Dubai government.

In an investment announcement notable even by Dubai’s lavish standards, the emirate has unveiled $4.4 billion [USD] worth of projects devoted to “eco-friendly living” and its residents “wellness.”

On Aug. 17, Tatweer, a member of government-owned Dubai Holding, announced it would establish a $1 billion Dubai Wellness Resort as part of the Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) project. Tatweer’s new initiative will include a cosmetic and integrated medical services centre, a sports medicine facility and eco-friendly and healthy-living residences. It will also encompass a retail district in the town centre and a number of seven-star luxury hotels.

“The new wellness facility underpins our relentless endeavour to promote Dubai as the hub for healthcare excellence,” Saeed Al-Muntafiq, the executive chairman of Tatweer, told reporters at the project’s launch. “Its integrative approach to medicine will solidify DHCC’s position as the leading destination for comprehensive health services through its fusion of allopathic and complementary and alternative medicine, using an evidence-based approach.”

According to Al-Muntafiq, the new resort will offer advanced curative approaches in integrative medicine from the West, the East and the Arab world. Set within a sustainable and carbon-neutral environment, DWC will focus on innovations in preventative medicine, as well as its patient management programmes and follow-up treatment procedures.

The development brings Tatweer’s investment in DHCC to a total of $3.4 billion, while the entire project has so far attracted $4.1 billion of additional investment from its partners, bringing the overall investment in DHCC to $7.5 billion.

The first phase of DHCC, which is 380,000 square metres in size, features a medical cluster comprised of day clinics, diagnostic centres, rehabilitation centres, transplantation centres, hospitals and a sector for pharmaceutical and equipment suppliers.

High-profile international partners have signed up with DHCC, including the Mayo Clinic, AstraZeneca, Harvard Medical International, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, NHS Trust and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.

Meanwhile, Emaar Properties – the Middle East’s largest developer by market value –unveiled on Aug. 18 the eco-friendly Mushrif Heights, an integrated community focused on sustainable development. The $3.3 billion project is Emaar’s latest addition to its extensive project portfolio in Dubai, which includes Downtown Burj Dubai, Arabian Ranches, Emirates Living, Dubai Marina and Warsan Estate.

Built around green hills and spread over 4.08 million square metres, Mushrif Heights will be an integrated neighbourhood of villas, town homes and apartments designed to offer residents a range of eco-friendly innovations and environmentally conscious features.

In addition to parks, walkways and landscaped gardens, the development’s designs detail amenities including a school, town centres, a mosque, retail outlets and other leisure and recreational facilities. A central feature of the community will be a hill sanctuary offering spectacular views of the development.

“Sustainable developmental initiatives are gaining importance today with Dubai already having taken the lead in designing and promoting green, energy-efficient buildings,” Ahmad Al Matrooshi, managing director of Emaar Properties in the U.A.E., said in a Aug. 17 press statement. “This project is part of our commitment to this social responsibility, and we are creating a new eco-friendly community where the focus is on integrating everyday living with the natural environment.”

Emaar’s portfolio currently extends to the U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Morocco, Egypt, Turkey, Libya, Algeria, India, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, the U.S., the U.K., France and Canada.

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