Essential

The world’s tallest building opened tonight with a spectacular fireworks ceremony attended by thousands.

The final height of the Burj Khalifa was revealed to be 828 metres high, much higher than the 508 metres of the previous record holder, Taipei 101.

Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum renamed the skyscraper, known as the Burj Dubai throughout construction, after Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan, president of the UAE and ruler of the neighbouring emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The tower is home to over 1,000 luxury apartments, 49 floors of offices and the 160-room Armani hotel. Around 12,000 people are expected to live and work in the tower, which is part of the Downtown Burj Dubai development.

Construction of the Burj Khalifa began in 2004 and involved some 12,000 workers. The first residents are expected to begin moving into their apartments in February 2010. The Armani Hotel is scheduled to open a month later.

Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy and chairman of the Supreme Committee for Consumer Protection, has warned restaurants in Dubai that the automatic addition of service charges to bills is illegal.

The move follows thousands of complaints that many restaurants in the city still add a service charge, despite the practice being outlawed in 2006. Some establishments have been adding as much as 20 percent to bills.

Al Mansouri said that the Ministry ‘will take serious measures against those who violate the law.’

UAE telecommunications company Du has extended its wireless internet service to the Dubai Metro.

Broadband wireless internet access will be available on both trains and in stations. The service can be paid for by credit card or with a WoW recharge card, available at Du Shops and other authorised outlets.

Du has also enhanced its 2G and 3G mobile coverage at all Dubai Metro stations and along the length of the Red Line to ensure seamless connectivity on journeys.

Mashreq, one of the leading banks in the United Arab Emirates, has installed a number of ATMs at the recently opened stations on the Dubai Metro Red Line.

Cash machines have been installed at 9 stations; Rashidiya, Deira City Centre, Al Rigga, Mall of the Emirates, Financial Centre, Jafiliya, Nakheel Harbour and Tower, Union Square, and Khalid Bid Waleed.

The Dubai Metro will begin operations on September 9 2009 with 10 stations on the Red Line.

However services on the opening day will be restricted to VIPs invited by the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). The system will open to the public the following day.

Stations opening on the first day are Rashidiya, Dubai International Airport (Terminal 3), Deira City Centre, Al Rigga, Union Square, Khalid bin Waleed, Al Jafiliya, Dubai International Financial Centre, Mall of the Emirates, and Nakheel Harbour & Tower.

The remaining stations will open over the coming months.

Throughout Ramadan the Dubai Metro service will operate from Saturday to Thursday 6 am until midnight. On Friday services will run from 2 pm to midnight.

After Ramadan the Metro service will run from Saturday to Thursday, 6.am to 11 pm, and on Fridays 2 pm to midnight.

Dubai has been ranked as one of the most expensive cities in the world by a leading consulting group.

The city has been name the 20th most expensive place to live by Mercer, a human resource consulting firm based in New York.

The Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2009 covered 143 cities and measured the cost of more than 200 items in each, including food, housing, transportation, and entertainment.

The survey was compiled using data for year to March 2009. The most expensive cities were Tokyo, Osaka, Moscow, Geneva, and Hong Kong.

In the 2008 survey Dubai was ranked 52nd.

The Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has opened a Visitors’ Information Bureau (VIB) at Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport.

Other VIBs are found at Terminal 1 and several shopping malls (BurJuman Centre, Deira City Centre, Ibn Battuta Mall, and Wafi City Mall).

Staff at VIBs can provide tourists with a great deal of information to help them with planning their vacation. They also stock brochures, maps, entertainment guides, and much more.

The United Arab Emirates will begin shortly begin issuing multiple-entry visas to foreign property owners.

From June 1 2009 an expatriate owning a property in the UAE will be able to obtain a multiple-entry visa that will be valid for six months.

A visa will cost AED 2000 and can be renewed provided the property owner leaves the UAE for at least one month.

Conditions include:

• The property must be worth at least AED 1 million
• The owner must have a monthly income of at least AED 10,000
• The owner must obtain the title of the property from the registration authority in the relevant emirate.

The visa does not give the holder the right to work.

A report by global financial services firm UBS predicts that the population of Dubai will fall by 8 percent in 2009 and 2 percent in 2010.

The vast majority of workers in Dubai are expatriates. Significant numbers are employed in the city’s troubled real estate and construction sectors.

Royal Caribbean International has announced it will deploy the cruise ship Brilliance of the Seas to Dubai in 2010. Between January and April 2010 it will offer 7-night sailings from Dubai. Detailed itineraries will be announced over the next few weeks.

Michael Bayley, Senior Vice President, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd said ‘Dubai is a dynamic and thriving city that shows great growth potential. Building on our reputation for introducing revolutionary cruise experiences, we are excited to provide a different cruise vacation than traditionally offered in this region. Royal Caribbean continues to attract vacationers globally and we are thrilled to offer new and exciting choices for our guests – combining our distinct onboard amenities with compelling itineraries including the Arabian Gulf’s most popular destinations.’