Project developer Designer and Builder

Published: Saturday, September 4, 2010 with 0 Comments

Bawadi is a mega accommodation tourism project launched on May 1 2006 by the Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Bawadi

Developer Tatweer – part of Dubai Holding – plans a AED106bn [£15.4bn, 22.5bn euro, US$28.8bn] mixed-use primarily hotel project called Bawadi in the mega entertainment complex of Dubailand.

The six mile [10km] project will also feature:

Entertainment centres,
Shopping malls,
Theatres,
Restaurants,
and Convention centres.

The project will be built in five phases. Initially, five hotels will open by 2010, with a further six opening by 2011. Seven hotels will be completed in both 2012 and 2013. The final phase will see six more hotels opening in 2014, bringing the total up to 31.

Tatweer will invest AED31.6bn (£4.6 bn, 6.7bn euro, US$8.6bn) in hotel developments and AED11bn (£1.6bn, 2.3bn euro, US$3bn) in infrastructure investment.

The remaining AED63bn (£9.2bn, 13.4bn euro, US$17.2bn) is expected to come from investors.

As well as the in house Tatweer designers responsible for the overall Bawadi project including infrastructure and landscaping Tatweer have appointed major international hotel designers for its specific hotel projects such as the 6500 room Asia Asia Hotel which is planned to be operational by 2010 and for which Tatweer have appointed Pelli Clarke Pelli ,the architects of the PETRONAS Towers, as the lead architects

As Arif Mubarak, Bawadi CEO stated:

“Pelli Clarke Pelli is one of the world’s leading architects. Conceiving the design concept for Asia Asia Hotel & Resort is a significant step in the development of the Bawadi project. We look forward to seeing the creative ideas envisioned by this outstanding architectural firm.”

Formed in 1977, Pelli Clarke Pelli is known for its over the top international hotel style that aspires to celebrate the unique characteristics of each project. Pelli Clarke Pelli has designed a number of the world’s famous buildings, including the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia.
‘We are extremely excited about crafting the architecture for Asia Asia Hotel & Resort, a project that will mark our entry to the emirate and continue Dubai’s drive towards becoming a global tourism hub,” commented Cesar Pelli, MD of Pelli Clarke Pelli.

Badwadi resort will be able to host more than three million tourists by 2016

There is little independent information available in respect of this project and most of this information derived from the developer.

A designated hotel precinct:

Reminiscent of the themed hotels of Las Vegas and Disneyland in Orlando, Florida, the Bawadi district will add 60000 rooms to the Dubai hotel inventory by 2016, and includes 51 hotels and more than 100 restaurants, theatres and shopping malls.

The first hotels are expected to open in 2010, with the remainder complete by 2014.

Laid out over 139 million square feet in Dubailand, the Bawadi hotel zone is going to receive an investment of $11 billion from the Dubai Government and the balance of more than $16 billion is to be raised from investors.

World’s biggest hotel:

Centre piece of Bawadi will be the world’s largest hotel, Asia-Asia which will have 6,500 rooms of which 5,100 will be four-star and 1,400 five star rooms.
The Asia-Asia hotel is scheduled for completion in 2010.

Anybody reading the new book from UAE Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum about his vision for the emirate should not be so surprised by this initiative. The vision of Dubai is somewhat akin to the biggest business plan in the world, according to those who have read the book..

The stated objective is for Dubai to have 15 million tourists a year by 2012 compared with 6.2 million last year. This clearly requires massive growth in hotel rooms – and Bawadi will make a big contribution, although many hotels are already under development elsewhere in the emirate.

Bawadi is being developed by a unit of Dubai Holding called Tatweer headed by Saeed Al Muntafiq, who has been leading the multi-billion dollar Dubailand theme park project since its inception and has an established track-record of delivering ambitious Dubai projects to date.

Government-led investment:

Tatweer, the Dubailands master developer, is to construct 12 themed hotels with 12,450 rooms and sell plots to investors for a further 39 hotels with 47550 rooms.

This is the classic Dubai Government pattern, with the government acting as a lead investor. It is significant that the government is taking such a large part of the investment in Bawadi for itself.

This confidence will doubtless not be lost on potential hotel investors who have a rare opportunity to buy into the Dubai tourism sector in the Bawadi district, and it is going to be fascinating to see who emerges as the main investors in this zone.

But with the present Dubai occupancy and room rates amongst the highest in the world these hotel plots should be popular.

The location of Bawadi is certainly not the best site in Dubailands being at the lower end of the project at least 25-30 minutes drive away from the centre of old Dubai located around the Dubai creek.

Being away from Emirates Road means that it will not have direct Dubai Metro blue line access – but in any event monorail and tram lines right outside the hotel doors are planned to link Bawadi with the Dubai Metro stations on Emirates Road.

With 60000 rooms and probably 2-4 times that as many hotel guests in the Bawadi precinct each day its unfortunate that the precinct cannot be directly linked to the blue line – perhaps a feeder line can be installed later so hotel guests only have one instead of two stages to their hotel- airport journey .

It would have been better to locate the hotel precinct on a site in Emirates Road [see right of image] on the Dubai metro blue line so Dubailand visitors could simply take a single train journey for the airport [both the existing and the planned new airport are on the Dubai metro blue line] to their hotel in Dubailands – as lugging bags when arriving and bags [and bulk shopping] when departing from tram or monorail to train imposes an unnecessary barrier and delay to easy commuter travel.

Project details: Bawadi site plan:

Bawadi will also be the world’s biggest shopping area.

Total retail space will be in excess of 40 million square feet and will be developed and managed by Tatweer, Emaar, and the Al Gurai family who also own and operate other major Dubai city retail projects.

Hotels planned include:

America Hotels & Resorts
Holly Bolly Hotel & Resort
Asia-Asia
Ottoman Palace Hotel and Resort
Pirates Cove Hotel & Resorts

Three sweeping boulevards will run the entire length of the new hotel precinct intersected by 12 cross roads – all linked by tram and monorail lines – but a designated metro line down one boulevard and up the other would have saved most hotel guests the bother of a two part tram/monorail train journey to and from the airport.

Site plan: 5 Themed districts:

The hotel districts of Bawadi are geographically themed with:

Asian,
European,
Arabia,
African,
And American

precincts – all with their own distinctive regional architecture, and individual retail, leisure, and entertainment centres as well as hotels.

Room count:

Asia Asia Hotel and Resort, 5 Stars, 6,500 rooms
Fantasia Hotel and Resort, 4 Stars, 800 rooms
Fashion Hotel, 5 Stars, 500 rooms
Historia Hotel, 4 Stars, 800 rooms
Holly Bolly Resort and Hotel, 5 Stars, 800 rooms
La Musica Hotel and Tower, 5 Stars, 800 rooms
Nautica Hotel, 4 Stars, 700 rooms
Olympia Hotel and Tower, 4 and 3 Star, 1,500 rooms
Palaces Hotel and Resort, 5 Stars, 1,000 rooms
Golf Hotel and Resort, 5 Stars, 800 rooms
Latino Resort, 4 and 3 Stars, 1,000 rooms
America Hotel and Resort, 3 Stars, 800 rooms
Europa Hotel and Tower, 5 + 4 Stars, several hotels. one with 400 rooms, one with 1,000 rooms, superior apartments
Africa World Hotel, 5 + 4 Stars, 5 stars: 450 rooms, 4 stars: one hotel with 200 rooms and one hotel with 150 rooms
Babylon Hotel and Tower, 4 Stars, 850 rooms
Persia Hotel and Resort, 4 Stars, 850 rooms
Camelot Hotel and Resort