The Pearl-Qatar, the US $2.5 billion man-made island being built offshore the Qatari capital of Doha in the Arabian Gulf, is to have its international exhibition debut in Russia.
The Pearl-Qatar will be showcased at the DOMEXPO international real estate exhibition being held in Moscow from October 21-24, 2004.“This is the start of what will be a hectic schedule of international promotions aimed at attracting global investment into this world-class, Riviera-style project,” said Nick Bashkiroff, Development Director, The Pearl-Qatar. “Russians are now among the world’s most influential real estate investors and are specifically targeting luxury developments. This particularly fits The Pearl-Qatar’s lavish profile with its planned deluxe, palace-style villas with their own private beachfronts, imaginative, high-end town houses and fashionable penthouse apartments with sweeping sea views.
“Qatar is now also highly accessible to the Russian market since the launch last year of Qatar Airways’ four non-stop weekly flights to Moscow’s new state-of-the-art Domodedovo airport.“The appeal of The Pearl-Qatar will be international as it will be an aspirational address in the Arab world’s richest country, with a secure, upscale, yet family-oriented living environment and facilities unsurpassed within the Middle East. It will be a true island retreat. “Of particular appeal will be the fact that this is Qatar’s first international real estate venture, its largest real estate project and the first in Qatar to offer freehold and residential rights to international investors.”
The rediscovered island, which is being built on a reclaimed pearl diving reef, will provide for an exclusive community of 30,000 residents in 10 distinctly themed districts, three deluxe hotels, four marinas, leisure facilities and 60,000 square metres of luxury retail and restaurant space.“The cultural aspect of The Pearl-Qatar, rediscovering as it does the country’s traditional pearl-diving roots, will resonate with Russians who have strong liking for history wrapped up in all the modernity of 21st century lifestyles,” added Bashkiroff.
DOMEXPO, which annually attracts in excess of 8,000 visitors, is among a number of international exhibitions and conferences where The Pearl-Qatar is due to be featured. Others include the UK’s Homes Overseas Show to be held in London in October and Dubai’s Cityscape conference in November. “Plans are also afoot to take the project on a road show throughout the GCC and to selected European destinations,” said Bashkiroff. “The Pearl-Qatar will be an iconic destination and our promotional efforts will also enhance the international profile of the country as an emerging destination for discerning, upscale tourists.”
Covering some 988 acres, The Pearl-Qatar will be two-thirds the size of the Western Mediterranean island of Gibraltar. It will be linked to Qatar’s mainland via a 355 metre-long, palm-tree lined, eight-lane super highway. It is being constructed just 20 kilometres from Doha International Airport.
The project, which will create some 63 kilometres of new coastline, is being developed and promoted by United Development Company (UDC), Qatar’s largest private sector shareholding company which is listed on the Doha Securities Market.
Dredging work for The Pearl-Qatar is currently under way. The first investors are due to take up residency in late 2006 with the entire project due for completion in 2009.
This US $2.5 billion offshore, Riviera-style man-made island, covering 400 hectares of reclaimed land, is Qatar’s first international real estate venture, the largest real estate development in the country and the first to offer freehold and residential rights to international investors. It will create some 63 kilometres of new coastline. The Pearl-Qatar’s name and location, on a former pearl diving site, leverages the country’s traditions, and strong historical and cultural ties to the sea – it is an island rediscovered.
The Pearl-Qatar will eventually house 30,000 residents in an up-scale, multi-cultural residential community which will be a secure and exclusive island retreat bringing the ambience and lifestyle of the Mediterranean to the heart of Arabia. The four-phase development comprises 10 distinct districts to be developed over five years, with the first investors expected to take up residency in 2006. The Riviera Arabia themed districts will house three luxury hotels, four marinas, with combined mooring for over 700 boats, and 60,000 square metres of luxury retail and restaurant space.
The Pearl-Qatar is being built 350 metres offshore the West Bay Lagoon area of the country’s capital, Doha. Whilst offering an exclusive retreat, the island will also be closely integrated with, and have easy access to, the capital’s thriving community.Dredging work for The Pearl-Qatar is currently underway; the project is due for total completion in 2009.
The Pearl-Qatar is being developed and promoted by United Development Company (UDC), Qatar’s largest private sector shareholding company.
The Pearl-Qatar’s developer, UDC, is the country’s largest private sector shareholding company with a mission to identify and invest in long-term projects that contribute to Qatar’s growth and provide good shareholder value. The company was established in 1999, with an authorized share capital of QR 500 million (US $140 million), and listed on the Doha Securities Market in June 2003.
UDC’s target areas of interest include: infrastructure, energy-intensive industries, hydrocarbons downstream, real estate, construction and environment-related businesses. UDC established the Qatar Dredging Company – a joint venture with the State of Qatar and Belgium’s Dredging International – and formed Qatar Cool, a district cooling company, in association with Tabreed of the United Arab Emirates. UDC is also a partner in Al-Seif Company Ltd – a joint venture with Qatar Petroleum to develop a plant to produce linear alkyl benzene (LAB), which is the main feedstock for detergent manufacture. The plant will have a production capacity of 100,000 tons a year. UDC has also invested in the Al Khaleej Formaldehyde Company.
UDC’s founders, who at launch held 45% of the shares, are among Qatar’s most successful investors and developers. A large number of Qatari and GCC investors are shareholders in UDC.
Centrally located in the Arabian Gulf, the peninsula state of Qatar, with 17.9 trillion cubic metres, has five per cent of the world’s proven natural gas reserves. Qatar is the richest Arab nation with a per capita income of US $30,000 per annum.Eighty per cent of the Qatari population, which is now approaching one million, is based in and around the capital, Doha.
Qatar has strong historical and cultural ties to the sea. Pearl fishing was the traditional mainstay of the economy until oil and gas took over around 50 years ago. Although pearling is no longer a key economic driver, it has left a legacy of skills, stories, music, art and poetry that is a source of identity and pride for Qataris today.
Qatar has growing inbound tourism ambitions with The Qatar Tourism Authority targeting tourism arrivals of 1.25 million in 2005 and Doha International Airport is undergoing huge expansion and new build to cope with anticipated increased passenger traffic. When completed in 2015, the new airport will be able to handle around 50 million passengers a year.
Central to the international promotion of Qatar is the country’s flag carrier Qatar Airways – now one of the world’s fastest-growing international airlines. Currently serving a growing route network throughout Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Sub-Continent and Asia, the airline plans to serve more than 60 destinations by 2005 and have a fleet of 52 Airbus aircraft by 2008.
Qatar, already host to annual ATP tennis tournaments and PGA golfing events, is fast making a name for itself on the international sporting arena and, in 2006, will host the Asian Games.
The Qatari government has a pro-business stance on foreign investment and is encouraging the growth of the country’s private sector, stimulating progress with an active privatization programme.
*Source: Ministry of Information, State of Qatar
Oman Ministry of Education integrates the ICDL programs and makes it part
of its computer teaching syllabus in public schoolsMinistry urges all its teachers to acquire ICDL certification to enhance IT competency regardless of their teaching subject matter
MUSCAT - September 24, 2004The Ministry of Education in the Sultanate of Oman has unveiled its endorsement of the International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) program and its adoption in all its public schools effective this academic year, as a standard for upgrading the computer skills in the education sector across the Sultanate, following the success of the program in other parts of the Gulf region. ICDL has also made rapid strides in raising IT literacy all over the world.This follows the signing of an agreement between the Ministry of Education and ICDL Oman. The agreement was signed by H.E. Yahya bin Saud El Sulaimi, Minister of Education, Sultanate of Oman, and Jamil Ezzo, Director General of ICDL GCC Foundation, the regional governing body and the operator of the ICDL program in the Gulf States. ICDL GCC Foundation recently opened its ICDL Oman office in Knowledge Oasis Muscat, as part of its overall strategy to establish local offices in each GCC member state for promoting IT literacy and providing local support to the ICDL program on the ground.
According to the recently signed agreement, the Ministry of Education will work in partnership with ICDL Oman to integrate the ICDL standards and syllabus in its teaching of computer to 11th grade students. As fist phase to this ambitious project that calls to making ICDL obtainable by all teachers and students, ICDL Oman will begin by initially accrediting 360 schools as ICDL approved training centers and 12 schools as ICDL approved testing centers. With this project aiming to train over 50,000 students annually, the Ministry is providing each 11th grade student with ICDL approved training material that includes courseware books and access o ICDL interactive courses. These courses are hosted on a Learning Management System (LMS) that will track the student's learning progress. The Ministry will also urge teachers to obtain the ICDL certification regardless of their subject matter.
H.E Mustafa Bin Ali Bin Abdullatif, Undersecretary for Administration and Finance, Ministry of Education, commented: "Providing students with the right tools to enhance their computer skills is a major priority for us and we seek to achieve this goal by adopting proven models, such as the ICDL program, which has attained global recognition as one of the most effective syllabus in this field. We are confident that our efforts in furthering IT literacy will accelerate our pace to reaching an eSociety."
The initiative is greatly supported by Oman's Ministry of National Economy, which is the apex body for enhancing IT competency in the government as well as the overall society in the Sultanate. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of National economy will work closely with ICDL Oman to put in place the necessary technological infrastructure and ensure that all the training and testing centers adhere to the international standards set by the ECDL Foundation and ICDL GCC Foundation. In addition, all government
organisations in Oman are exerting tremendous efforts to providing egovernment service to its citizens."ICDL GCC Foundation has trained several people to support the implementation of this project. We are currently evaluating and certifying the centres that will provide ICDL training and testing through out the sultanate," said Ezzo. "The growth and success of ICDL in the region has prompted us to work with the ICDL GCC Foundation to integrate the program proven syllabus and methodologies into our education system. We will work closely with the Foundation to adopt the ICDL program as part of our syllabus, adhering to the international quality standards set by the ECDL Foundation for training and testing around the world," added Mr. Bin Abdullatif. "We consider the endorsement of the ICDL program by the Ministry of Education in Oman as a further enhancement to the value of ICDL as the most practical and cost-effective tool for upgrading computer skills not only on the education front, but also on the social level to bridge the digital gap," said Ezzo. "The ICDL program has become an integral part meeting the objective of national computer literacy programs set by governments around the world due to its flexible approach and its vendor neutrality. We are delighted to work with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of National Economy in Oman to provide access to all, aiming at enhancing education and improving quality of life," added Ezzo.
ICDL GCC Foundation is the governing body of ICDL program in the Gulf States and the regional arm of European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL), the not-for-profit global governing body of the ICDL member countries dedicated to helping raise the basic computer competency in societies and providing access for all to the information society. The ICDL training program has achieved remarkable success in the Middle East since its introduction in 2001 by UNESCO Cairo Office. Currently, several education ministries and academic institutions in the region have adopted the ICDL training and testing within their organisations to enhance IT skills of their workforce. The ICDL certification comes as part of the strategic plan followed by Ministry of National Economy to furthering computer literacy and providing all parts of society to benefit from the today's technologies and information access.
Illegal Exchange Racket Busted Near Delhi
14:24 IST
The Department of Telecom (DOT) was again successful in its series of combing operation against the illegal exchanges operating from in and around Delhi. This time the raid was made at Noida, near Delhi by the team comprising of officials from the DOT, VSNL and the Special Delhi Police. The clandestinely operated telephone exchange was used for routing incoming international calls through internet and further distributing these calls on to the local telephone network in and around Delhi. The prepaid cards available abroad, meant for making calls to India, were the source of incoming international calls. The raid was carried out at the second floor of Awana Building located at Atta Market, Sector 27, Noida. The illegal telephone exchanged setup was equipped with sophisticated High Tech equipments. Internet leased line of M/s World Phone was also found terminated on this illegal setup. The illegal incoming international call traffic was brought through this link and 36 mobile connections of Hutch and 19 mobile connection of Airtel were being used to terminate these calls as local calls in the Public Switching Telecom Network (PSTN) network in and around Delhi.It may be recalled that Internet telephony is permitted in the country only on PC mode i.e. PC to PC. In the instant case, it was configured using high tech equipment to bring the incoming internet call traffic and further dial using mobile connections to local PSTN number and thus terminated international call as local with Callers Line Identification (CLI) of local numbers. The offenders were thus bypassing the authorised international long distant operators and were switching these calls using this illegal telephone exchange. The Police have arrested one person in this connection and are further investigating the case to find out the involvement of any other Indian and Foreign partners.
Nakheel announces launch of Jumeirah Village
6000 villas and townhouses in the development recreate a village lifestyle offering residents inspired living spaces with a cosmopolitan hue
September 22, 2004 Nakheel, one of the world's premiere property developers behind some of the most iconic projects in Dubai has announced the launch of its latest property development, Jumeirah Village, a new project that creates an idyllic village and community living experience.
Jumeirah Village encompasses more than 6000 spaciously constructed villas and townhouses set amidst luscious landscaping and unsurpassed leisure and lifestyle amenities to deliver a holistic living experience for its residents. Located just off Sheikh Zayed road, Jumeirah Village lies adjacent to Jumeirah Islands, Nakheel's signature inland waterfront development and in close proximity to its other iconic developments such as the Palm Jumeirah and Palm Jebel Ali.
The development will house 2883, two to four bedroom villas and 3184 one to two bedroom townhouses, built in classic Arabic and Mediterranean architectural styles. These spacious villas and townhouses will have distinctive red roof tiles, arches, carved doors, ornamental spiral columns, patterned tile floors and wall surfaces whose architectural designs follow thematic geometric and floral patterns.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman of Nakheel, said: "Jumeirah Village is Nakheel's answer to the needs of those individuals and families who are craving for a lifestyle that offers complete peace of mind. The trend for community living is on the rise as more and more people are opting to live in self-sustained communities, where everything they need is well within reach. Jumeirah Village adds a cosmopolitan and kindred hue to the spirit of village living."
The Jumeirah Village is planned around four distinct themes. The Gateway Village, which is the centrepiece to the development, offers diverse retail and leisure facilities as well as a variety of amenities for Jumeirah Village residents and guests. The Canal Village features a scenic and vibrant waterfront lifestyle with luxuriant water views. The Paradise Village, is synonym to tranquillity with its lush green grounds and plenty of open spaces, where families can enjoy a stroll in landscaped surroundings and well pruned gardens. The Marina Village is unique as it forms the nodal point of all the maritime activities in the village offering berthing space for small boats."The four themes have been chosen as they reflect a cosmopolitan lifestyle which is the forte of Jumeirah, Dubai's most desirable district," said Bin Sulayem. "Variety forms the central theme of the Jumeirah Village with amenities, landscaping, gardening and the style of architecture, aimed at providing the residents a distinctive feel to the place and making it stand apart in the real sense as a community."
Jumeirah Village also hosts world class amenities for its residents including two international schools, town and country clubs, community centre, jogging and cycling trails, community sports and leisure facilities such as football and cricket pitch, tennis courts, croquet lawn and swimming pools, medical facilities and veterinary clinics and round the clock security. The Gardens Shopping Mall, which is taking shape right in the vicinity, will provide the residents of Jumeirah Village, a mix of unsurpassed retail and leisure experience
"The development is centrally located near the free zones such as Dubai Media City, Dubai Internet City and the Jebel Ali Free Zone. In addition, mixed-use commercial and residential developments such as the Jumeirah Lake Towers will fuel the need for people who work there to find exceptional residential options nearby," said Bin Sulayem. "Jumeirah Village caters to their need for inspired living spaces, where peace of mind and security is fully assured."
GULF AIR WEBSITE NOW FEATURES THE ONLINE CARRIAGE OF MEDICAL PASSENGERS APPLICATION
Manama, Bahrain: Gulf Air's website now features a valuable tool for medical practitioners who are requesting approval for their patients to travel on the airline. The Online Carriage of Medical Passengers application form, available at www.gulfairco.com, is an electronic form for medical practitioners to use when requesting approval of Gulf Air's doctor for a patient to travel on the airline. The application form can be electronically submitted with a patient's full details for review and approval by the Gulf Air doctor. "Travelling can be stressful, especially for those with medical conditions," said Dr. Issam Salameh, Head of Medical Services at Gulf Air. "The introduction of this electronic medical form will simplify the process of application and approval for medical passengers wishing to travel on Gulf Air." The site also allows for follow-up on the progress of the application until the arrangements for the transport of a medical passenger are finalised. All the cases are stored in the system for future reference if this is necessary. There is a step-by-step user's guide explaining how to complete the medical application before accessing it.
Insurance industry at risk from information theft, says Shred-IT Fraud Accounts for US$12b Annual Losses Worldwide
22nd September 2004 Insurance fraud, caused by criminal access to personal and confidential files and policies, is on the increase. According to the Communications Fraud Control Association, USA, annual fraud losses are in excess of $12 billion worldwide. It is estimated that identity fraud affects more than 2000 people worldwide each day but according to Shred-it Dubai, the UAE's leading secure document destruction solution provider, the threat of fraud can be effectively prevented by secure document shredding.
"Secure disposal of expired documents, like insurance policies, that contain vital private and proprietary information can prevent frauds and identity thefts," said Stuart Mansbridge, General Manager, Shred-it, during a presentation to the Insurance Special Interest Group of The British Business Group in Dubai."Not only is waste paper a rich source of information for competitors and fraudsters, but stolen papers can also jeopardise client relationships. Failure to completely destroy private and proprietary data could even risk criminal and civil prosecution.
"Shred-it's secure document shredding enables businesses to be absolutely certain that expired or temporary documents do not fall into the wrong hands."Shred-it guarantees confidentiality in document destruction through effective waste assessment and strict controls.
"Today, most transactions occur without any personal contact based on names, account numbers and passwords. This can give rise to fraud if a criminal gains access to a policy holder's personal and confidential files. For instance, with enough information, they can force the insurance firm to fraudulently pay out loans against accumulated policy values," said Mansbridge."Shred-it's document management professionals are trained to identify areas where information maybe accidentally disclosed. This helps in assessing what constitutes sensitive information and which departments need to be careful about document disposal. Shred-it then places locked paper security bins in the organisation from which documents are retrieved on a fixed schedule and destroyed under strict control." Shred-it can also destroy confidential information held on CDs, floppy disks as well as hard-copy paper, beyond recognition.
HOTELS LINK UP TO PRESENT GREAT VALUE WEEKENDS FOR AUTUMN, RAMADAN AND EID
InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels and resorts offer attractive getaway options across Middle East, North Africa
Dubai, UAE, 20 September, 2004: Families planning getaway breaks during autumn including, Ramadan and Eid al Fitr, are being offered a wide range of attractive options at InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts across the Middle East and North Africa. Throughout the GCC countries, and in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen, 60 InterContinental Hotels Group properties are combining to present great value “Weekends” packages starting from as little as US$45 per night.
Added benefits include two children or teenagers under 19 being able to share their parents’ room free of charge. Breakfasts are also free for children under 12 and during Ramadan some of the hotels will be offering Suhor and Iftar in place of the breakfast.
InterContinental Resort Al Ain, nestled in a prime location five minutes from the centre of this oasis town, is a great getaway retreat within easy drive of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The hotel features, extensive gardens, 216 beautifully appointed rooms and chalets, an Olympic sized pool, family pool, tennis courts, state-of-the-art health club and even facilities for rugby, volleyball and basketball.
The recently refurbished Crowne Plaza Resort Salalah, has brought a whole host of new facilities including, top notch restaurants serving a variety of cuisines, three swimming pools, tennis courts and a range of fitness and wellbeing facilities, to this divers and nature lovers paradise. Salalah, though popular as a cool place to go in the summer is perfect year-round.
Holiday Inn Resort Sharm el Sheikh sits on a prime stretch of beach and has ample sea view rooms and suites plus plenty of variety for dining and entertainment. This is the perfect place for sports enthusiasts who can avail themselves of the hotel’s dive centre, a variety of other water sports, tennis, squash, basketball and volleyball facilities as well as playing a round or two of golf on the 18-hole course next door.
“Weekends” breaks at InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels across the region can be booked with toll-free calls to the InterContinental Hotels Group Middle East Central Reservations Office in Dubai from Bahrain (80000 880), Egypt (0800-4433322), Jordan (0800-22666), Kuwait (473 2100 ext 6233), Lebanon (01 426-801 - ask operator to connect to 866 866 7556), Oman (800 777 999), Pakistan (00800 909 971234) Qatar (0800 971234), Saudi Arabia (800 897 1465), and the UAE (800 4642)
Alert from the Islamic Development Bank about Fraudster Impersonating Staff
Jeddah - The Islamic Development Bank Group would like to bring to your kind attention that an unscrupulous person using a number of names and speaking several languages, is trying to defraud people and organizations dealing with IDB. This person pretends to be an IDB staff member who is on his way to visit Islamic organizations in order to provide assistance to them. Then on Thursday or Friday he calls the head of the Islamic organization and informs him that due to some unfortunate foul up he lost his luggage and airline tickets and he is stuck in some airport with his family. He then pleads with the Islamic organization to lend him some money in order to purchase tickets for himself and his wife.
He assures the organization that this amount is strictly a personal loan that will be paid back to them upon his arrival in the country. He claims that he is unable to contact the IDB because the Bank is closed on Thursdays and Fridays. Accordingly, he asks to transfer to him a specific amount through financial companies like Tomas Cook or Western Union.The IDB would kindly request you not to respond at all to any person impersonating an IDB staff name and asking for a sum of money. It is worth mentioning that the IDB could not be held responsible for any consequences or financial obligations resulting from such claims.
HERTZ Saudi Arabia expands operations as customer demand rises
Dubai, UAE, 21 September, 2004: Hertz Saudi Arabia is adding new vehicles to its fleet, and increasing the number of drivers on the team in response to increased demand for its short-term rentals and chauffeur drive vehicles. The new 2005 model Kia Rio now joins Hertz Saudi Arabia’s short-term rental fleet and will be available from all 18 Hertz locations throughout the Kingdom. A cost-effective yet high-quality vehicle, the Kia Rio, with automatic transmission and power steering, is the perfect solution for salespeople and managers traveling around the city, who represent an increasingly growing segment of the company’s client portfolio.Also new to the short-term rental fleet is the 9-seat Kia Carnival van, which has been added to accommodate visitors to the holy cities of Makkah and Medina in the months ahead. In addition, Hertz has grown its team of drivers in a response to increasing demand for Chauffeur drive service. “Chauffeur drive, whether for important business trips or family outings is becoming increasingly popular with our customers and a stronger team will enable us to show an even greater commitment to offering this high-quality service,” said Safir Islam, General Manager of Hertz Saudi Arabia.Car renters can obtain more information about Hertz Saudi Arabia by calling the company’s toll free line on 800.244.1333 or by visiting any of its locations.
