Brazilian companies participating in a mission of Santa Catarina state construction industry enterprises to the Arab Gulf are willing to supply furniture, stones and ornamental plants for the Downtown Dubai mega-project, in the United Arab Emirates.
The project is going to feature a tower planned to be the tallest in the world. The construction is already under way, and was visited yesterday, November 1st, by the Brazilian businessmen.
"We have scheduled a meeting with representatives of the project for them to visit our booth at Index," claimed Rafael Molon, who is in charge of the international relations department of the Brazilian High-End Furniture Manufacturers Association (Abimad), which will be exhibiting at the emirates’ furnishing trade show, scheduled to begin next week.
The project, scheduled for conclusion in 2009, is a gathering of residential and commercial buildings, shopping malls and restaurants.
The enthusiasm regarding the dimensions of the project and the opportunity to become a supplier has also attracted the interest of businesswoman Ingelore Eipper, who works for H.J. Eipper, a company of ornamental plants for decoration, and represents Montserrat, a manufacturer of wooden furniture, pavement and mouldings.
"I know Dubai buys plants from all around the world. But I believe I stand a chance of supplying them too," said Ingelore, who has exported to Dubai before.
Downtown Dubai is one of Arab Gulf’s most eagerly awaited projects, because it is going to harbor Burj Dubai, a tower aimed at being the world’s tallest, as well as Dubai Mall, also set to be the largest in the world.
The mall is going to house 2,000 stores and 200 restaurants and bars. The project belongs to the Emmar building and real estate company, which leads the Arab market.
Some 80 residential and commercial towers are going to be built in a total area of 2.5 million square meters. According to Jason Barrack, special projects manager of a company hired by Emaar, the new city is going to have a housing capacity of 50,000 people. US$ 10 billion have been invested in the project.
According to Barrack, the construction employs 25,000 workers, 4,000 of which are engineers. "There have been times when the construction had 45,000 workers," he said. The average price for a 120-square-meter apartment is US$ 2 million, and most have already been sold.
The Santa Catarina businessmen also visited construction sites in the capital city of the Emirates, and could not come to a conclusion regarding what impressed them the most.
On one side of Corniche Road, the emirates’ main avenue, there is the ocean; on the other side, there are the luxury buildings. The capital city also boasts the world’s second seven-star hotel, the Emirates Palace.
The Palace is luxurious from top to bottom. The roof and doorknobs are made of gold. Regular daily fees cost US$ 2,500. The suite costs US$ 18,000 per day, including two rooms and a pool.
Anba – www.anba.com.br