In the years of the boom, Dubai set about building with an ambition that would have made even Ozymandias blush. Artificial islands full of luxury villas, the world's tallest tower, an underwater hotel, even a stone-by-stone recreation of the French city of Lyon – no project was too extravagant, some would say vulgar, for the construction magnates of the emirate.
But this was a project built on the shifting sands of credit. Foreign capital poured into Dubai as its ruler, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, set about turning his nation into the financial, tourist and sporting hub of the Gulf. In less than a decade, Dubai managed to accumulate foreign liabilities of $80bn. Some estimates put it still higher. Full Article
But this was a project built on the shifting sands of credit. Foreign capital poured into Dubai as its ruler, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, set about turning his nation into the financial, tourist and sporting hub of the Gulf. In less than a decade, Dubai managed to accumulate foreign liabilities of $80bn. Some estimates put it still higher. Full Article
Source:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-the-collapse-of-an-economy-that-was-built-on-sand-1828409.html
