Dubai #3: This Century

By the turn of the century, urban development was the driving force for Dubai, writes Tomas Pueyo.. The Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, is the most famous landmark. The world’s 2nd largest mall, the Dubai Mall (with an aquarium and underwater zoo), came up. Land was reclaimed to create the famous Palm Jumeirah.


 

Dubai understood the synergies between different modes of transportation, so:

“It didn’t only invest in its port and coast. It continued investing in its airport and airline.”

Today, Dubai is the world’s 2nd busiest international airport, and Emirates airlines is a synonym for opulence and coverage.


 

Those old selling points from when it became an SEZ – safety, low taxes, tolerance – continue and remain key attractions even today. Dubai is (was?) as safe as Tokyo and Singapore, and definitely a whole lot safer than any Western city.

 

Criticism of the rulers or religion is not allowed. Media is controlled by the state. Public protests are not allowed. All these measures are not in a Soviet Union way, more like China – If you follow these rules, everything else is live and let live.

 

Pueyo make a key point. Dubai is not what many believe as a perfect example of how to transition out of oil wealth. After all, they never had much oil. Rather, Dubai was a trading port that used (brief) oil wealth to grow and develop other sectors to become what it is today. Tolerance, safety and low taxes have been the key, as well as great governance and foresight.

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