Page 288 - UAE Truncal States
P. 288

A City Stale - Example Dubai

        The harbour project, leading to large-scale
        industrialisation
        In about 19G4 il became obvious that before very long there would be
        more  sea-borne traffic than could be handled in the creek. The
        number of local, Iranian, and Pakistani dhows entering Dubai Creek
        was increasing rapidly; ocean-going vessels were calling in ever-
        increasing numbers and still had to be off-loaded onto barges out at
        sea; the barges then unloaded in the creek. To add to this growing
        congestion, industrial enterprises such as McDermott, building off­
        shore oil platforms, and Oilfield Supplies Co. were also based in the
        creek. When il became apparent that oil would soon be exported
        from Fath, Dubai’s off-shore field, Halcrows were commissioned in
        1965 to undertake a feasibility study for a deep water harbour. The
        plan chosen was for a harbour to accommodate four ocean-going
        vessels, which could be expanded to berth nine ships. It was not
        difficult to arrange for foreign credit, as Dubai’s off-shore oil-field
        was soon to come on stream. The contract for the construction of the
        four-berth harbour, worth about £9 million, was signed on 6 June
        1967, but the start of work was delayed for several months due to the
        outbreak of the June war.
          Meanwhile congestion in the creek became ever more acute as the
        building boom in both the public and the private sector accelerated;
        the expansion of the RAF base at Sharjah in 1967 also contributed to
        the quickening pace of economic growth. Therefore Shaikh Rashid
        decided to have the design of the extension to the harbour altered to
        include fifteen berths; the £23 million Port Rashid project was
        officially opened on 5 October 1972.
          When people’s attention was turned from merely improving
        facilities at the creek to building a deep water harbour in 1967, the
        population of Dubai numbered some 59,000.44 In 1973, when the City
        State enjoyed the benefits of the new harbour, the population had
        grown to an estimated 120,000, and by 1981 to well over one quarter
        of a million, due to immigration from abroad. The rapidly developing
        infrastructure serving the needs of the local community was
        progressively overshadowed by the very diverse requirements of the
        many nationalities who came to Dubai in such large numbers; their
        different life styles and habits, their requirements for medical
        services, schools, power and water all had to be met. Within a space
        of ten years Dubai was transformed: multi-storey buildings now
        overshadow the fine wind towers, the old fort has been converted to a

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