Dubai building $1 billion dinosaur park in City of Arabia complex

Oh come on! Cloning would have been better! ;)

Gosh, how many billions of dollars is Dubai spending on tourist stuff again? Sheesh! I think any one of us could get a job as a consultant over there. It's like the wild west of themeing.

They are using outside help since the arabs don't want to do the work for themselves. From what I have seen of that country, it's not as big as New Jersey. Sooner or later they are going to run out of room for all the new developments and thier economy will collapse due to over development.

Dubai is going to end up being THE destination for FINANCE *and* tourism in the Middle East. Unless the global economy takes a SERIOUS downturn, there's virtually no end in sight to the growth....

Jack Horner is on board? This is going to be one SWEET "Paleo-park"....and yes, I'd jump at the opportunity to work as a consultant....with both feet!

Anyone see the new skyscraper over there? New world record, people are estimating the topping out at 2500'. Now, if we can get them to attach some track to the side...

Just for the record, 500,000 square feet is about 11.5 acres.

That's a lot of dollars per acre!

^^^ What happens to Dubai if the global warming people get their way and the world turns to more energy efficient means of generating power that do not involve oil? Dubai would become an economic ghost town.

I believe this is why exactly they are creating Dubai as a tourist destination....so that when the oil dollars run dry, the tourist dollars are still there.

Honestly, WAY more than tourism, Dubai is becoming a MAJOR financial hub. More than any other oil-rich country on Earth, Dubai is investing *enormously* in diversifying their economy away from petroleum.

Remember the Dubai Ports fiasco? I sure do....

If there's one thing I watch *almost* as closely as the amusement industry, it's International Finance and Economics.....Dubai is going NOWHERE but up.

Dubai (THe U.A.E) is going to run out of oil in less than 20 years....that's why the focus is on tourism. THey've known when it's goign to dry up for decades

Now we can invade them for their tourist... 1/20/09

"Anyone see the new skyscraper over there? New world record, people are estimating the topping out at 2500'. Now, if we can get them to attach some track to the side..."

http://www.burjdubaiskyscraper.com/2007/12December/2007December.html
http://www.burjdubaiskyscraper.com/2007/12December/Burj_Dubai-122323.jpg

I particularly like the strap-on tower crane... http://www.burjdubaiskyscraper.com/2007/12December/Burj_Dubai-120203.jpg

They've reached 1,922 feet at last update, which is the maximum height of the reinforced concrete structure. Now they've begun the steel assembly for the rest of the tower. Still a ways to go.

That's pretty amazing stuff.

When your economy is changing, you evolve and look for the next opportunity. Wish we did that kind of thing here.

From what I have heard is that they have already screwed up the beaches due to the islands they built in the gulf. Some of those islands stretch over 10 miles across by 6 miles into the gulf. Let them build all they want, sooner or later the sand, wind and mother nature will claim it back.

Funny, that's what they say about the California coast too.