The new construction will have 12 lanes and would replace the Floating Bridge.
The new construction will have 12 lanes and would replace the Floating Bridge.

UAE

The Dubai Smile is no bridge too far

Construction will stand 100m at its tallest point rising 15m above Creek level, and will stretch 400m wide to let large yachts pass through.

Praveen Menon

November 16, 2008

DUBAI // A 12-lane crossing is to replace Dubai's Floating Bridge, the Roads and Transport Authority said yesterday. The Dh810 million (US$220m) bridge, designed like an inverted arc, has already been nicknamed the Dubai Smile. The design for the seventh crossing across the Dubai Creek has been approved by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Ruler of Dubai. It will be near Dubai Creek Park and Dubai Courts at Bur Dubai, and Deira City Centre and Dubai Golf Club on the other bank and is expected to ease traffic congestion across the creek as it can accommodate around 24,000 cars an hour.

Matar al Tayer, the chairman and executive director of the RTA, said: "The seventh crossing ranks among the landmark projects undertaken by the RTA, which aims to ease traffic flow across Dubai Creek. "The RTA is keen to turn the seventh crossing into an iconic, distinctive structure of Dubai." He said companies from around the world had been invited to submit designs and the best one was selected based on specific technical criteria. The bridge is expected to be completed by 2012.

The Floating Bridge is routinely clogged during rush hour. The constant flow of traffic near the Deira City Centre junction leaves frustrated motorists stuck waiting on the floating bridge. The new bridge is an initiative to relieve the traffic jams, officials said. It will have six lanes and a footpath in each direction and be able to accommodate about 24,000 vehicles an hour. "This will boost the intake of surrounding roads and ease traffic across the Creek, particularly in the neighbouring area of City Centre," said Mr Tayer.

The bridge, which will be 100 metres high at its tallest point, will rise 15 metres above level of the Creek, and be 400 metres wide, enabling large yachts to pass through. Presently, the floating bridge is closed in at nights to allow boats to pass along the creek. On the Bur Dubai side the bridge would also connect with a new underpass near Rashid hospital, while on the Deira side the bridge would be linked with Al Ittihad Road for motorists travelling to Sharjah, officials said.

A date for the start of work has not yet been finalised. pmenon@thenational.ae

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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if you go

Getting there

Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.

Staying there

On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.

More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr

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