ArabianBusiness.com

Giorgio Armani has built one of the world's greatest fashion empires and bagged over $5bn along the way. Mohamed Alabbar turned Emaar into one of the world's biggest property developers. So what happened when both men met in Milan? Anil Bhoyrul talks to the two icons.

Giorgio explained the was surprised when Mohammed Alabbar asked him to do this hotel project in Dubai. “My thinking is less is more, and Dubai was being called the Las Vegas of the desert. I couldn’t understand why he wanted this hotel in Dubai.” Alabbar himself told me it took “two years” to persuade him to sign up!

The world’s tallest building is to ‘go dark’ on March 27, in order to observe Earth Hour, the global initiative against climate change. Emaar Properties, developer of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, is to switch off the exterior lights of its landmark developments from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.

The much-anticipated Armani Hotel Dubai will miss its scheduled opening date for a second time, Arabian Business has learned. The luxury hotel, housed in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, was scheduled to open on March 18 but the launch ceremony has now been pushed back to April 22, a source confirmed.

Iconic fashion designer Giorgio Armani has said he is nervous his first hotel project, which will be located in the base of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, may look outdated when officially opened later this month. “I’ve been working on this for five years. I’m finally going to see what I designed, and it’s a bit nerve-racking to think that what I liked five years ago might look old now,” the Italian designer told US-based fashion trade publication Woman’s Wear Daily at the weekend.

The shops in Dubai Mall that were forced to close following a leak in its huge aquarium on Thursday, opened back to normal business on Friday. According to The National daily, the viewing tunnel running through the middle of the 10 million-litre tank remained closed.

In recent years, the Middle East has proved to be one of the most attractive construction and engineering markets in the world for international contractors. This is demonstrated in microcosm in the United Arab Emirates. In Dubai, for example, Japanese contractors have been heavily involved in constructing the Dubai Metro and the joint venture involved in the construction of the recently opened Burj Khalifa (previously known as the Burj Dubai) was led by South Korea's Samsung.

Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, is readying to welcome its first residents, with Emaar Properties currently conducting an orientation programme for Armani Residences homeowners. Although the interiors of the Armani Residences and The Residences in the Burj Khalifa are still in their final stages, Emaar said that the work is progressing at a fast pace.

Dubai officials plan to introduce a gold coin – with the face of the UAE President on one side and the Burj Khalifa on the other – as legal tender. If approved, it will be the first of its kind in the Middle East, the Khaleej Times reports on Thursday.

Last month's gala launch of the Burj Khalifa in Downtown Dubai was a fitting tribute to the skill and professionalism of the assembled event production specialists, lead by Dubai-based outfit Prisme International and French fireworks contractor Groupe F. While it's hard not to imagine the scale of the launch event had the 828 metre tower opened at the height of Dubai's boom years (think Atlantis times 10), the fireworks presentation itself differed little to initial designs drawn up by Groupe F's artistic director and CEO Christophe Berthonneau more than two years ago.