Trump tells Dubai property conference: 'I'm jealous of Burj'

American real estate mogul tells Dubai conference he is jealous that the UAE is home to the world's tallest tower.

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DUBAI // Donald Trump says he is "jealous" that the UAE is home to the world's tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa.

During his opening speech at the Middle East Facility Management Association conference this morning via a taped message, the American real estate mogul noted the rapid development in the Gulf and stressed the importance of facilities management.

Marwan bin Ghalaita, the chief executive of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority, sounded a more cautious note, stressing the role of facilities management in keeping the property market's momentum going.

Poor upkeep of buildings in Dubai has threatened to deter investors, he warned in his speech.

"From outside they look fantastic - amazing - but whenever you go inside, you don't know. It's a different story. This is what the engineers are telling me, what the investors tell me," Mr bin Ghalaita said at the opening of the conference for facilities management companies, which are responsible for maintaining properties.

In a slide show, Mr bin Ghalaita showed pictures of poor installation of wiring and chillers, and building debris left on site.

"This is all the problem that we are hearing nowadays," he said. "Facility management business is going to be very important and will play a significant role in the real estate sector."

Since the real estate boom ended in recent years, investors had become pickier about quality, Mr bin Ghalaita said.