Why no one seems to have a map of tomorrow’s Dubai “

There will soon be 50 new hotels coming up along this stretch of the road,” a Dubai journalist told me pointing at the thensparsely populated Sheikh Zayed Road, from the window of a room at the Fairmont. That was in September 2003 when, as a foreign financial journalist, I was invited to cover the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group. “Will there be enough visitors to justify so many new hotels,” I’d wondered then. “Of course, this is Dubai,” came the response. The events at the IMF and WB meetings put that response in perspective. On the following two days, Dubai officials showcased the emirate’s focus on manufacturing, finance and tourism. They dazzled the audience by announcing that it was possible to open a business in a free zone in under three hours, highlighting the success of the cluster strategy embodied in Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City, among others. I was already in love with the city, its ambition, and moved to Dubai in 2005.

In 2006, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum became the VicePresident and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai. The architect-in-chief of the present-day Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed’s vision and ambition gave the emirate new wings. As the Editor of a business magazine, I would regularly receive media announcements about new projects including islands, residential and commercial properties, new government departments, and colossal financial investments. So overwhelming was the scale of those announcements that it was impossible to fully capture the grand vision of Dubai let alone understand it. We would often wonder if someone had a map that plotted future projects to give an idea of what tomorrow’s Dubai would look like.

Then came the global financial crisis of 2008-09, exposing the dark side of accelerated growth. They say that when the US sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. In 2008, the US discovered its malignant financial tumour, and the pain of the therapy impacted economies far and wide, including Dubai’s. But what looked like an impossible mountain to climb during the crash of 2008 proved to be a mere speedbump. In its inimitable style, the emirate continued on its growth path with worldbeating developments like the Dubai Mall, the Dubai Metro and FlyDubai airline becoming a reality in 2009.

The emirate continued to bedazzle its fans and naysayers alike by making grander announcements and then delivering them in style, with the Burj Khalifa opening its doors in 2010. Now with Dubai readying itself at a rapid pace to host Expo 2020 next year, the questions are back: Will there be enough buyers or tourists or whatever to meet the ambitious new projects? Will Dubai economy be able to cope after the 25 million visitors leave? The answer, if I may borrow my peer’s quip, is: Of course, this is Dubai. There are now 263 hotels and hotel apartments on that SZR stretch — several times more than the 50 I thought in 2003 were a bit much. But now I no longer wonder if someone has a map of future Dubai. For, Dubai is not a city — it is a vision and an ambition. And you can’t capture vision and ambition on a map.