15 July 2004, Dubai, UAE - Nakheel, the name behind Dubai's iconic leisure and tourist projects, The Palm and The World, have teamed up with the IT Department at Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DRND) to offer potential investors in Nakheel's projects free e-Cards, used to access Dubai Airport's e-Gate service, at Carlton Towers in Knightsbridge.
The e-Card, which is part of Dubai Airport's e-Gate project, a fully automated immigration control facility, provides a fast-track immigration clearance using smart technology and biometric scans. Registered users of the e-Gate service simply swipe their individual e-Card and scan their fingerprint in order to pass through passport control. The whole process takes five seconds.
"We are always looking for different approaches to providing investors best-in-quality services. We want to make life as easy as possible for Nakheel's investors allowing them to enjoy living or doing business on Nakheel's developments. By availing investors access to Dubai's state-of-the-art services we not only simplify immigration but display another example of our commitment to investors," said Wahid Attalla, Nakheel's Executive Director Commercial & Operations.
Usually this service is only available to residents living in Dubai, but during Nakheel's promotional tour surrounding The Dubai International Horse Race the unique service we will be made available to potential UK investors
According to Nakheel, the initiative is part of the company's promotional efforts for The World and The Palm developments that are taking place at The Carlton Towers, London on the 18th floor between 10am and 7 pm, from 12th to 17th July, and in Newbury at the Dubai International Arabian Race Day Exhibition, Newbury Race Course from 16th to 17th July.
DRND Officials will be on hand at both venues to assist buyers register for their free e-Card, which they will receive in minutes.
-Ends-About The Palm
The Palm involves the creation of the world's largest two man-made islands known as The Palm, Jumeirah and The Palm, Jebel Ali. Located just off the coast of the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, the two palm tree shaped islands are expected to contribute to the city's position as a premier global tourist destination. The project will increase Dubai's shoreline by a total of 120km and create a large number of residential, leisure and entertainment opportunities, all within a unique and inspiring setting.
The creation of The Palm is an extraordinary project of grand proportions. Each island will be comprised of more than 100 million cubic meters of rock and sand. Between the two islands there will be over 60 luxury hotels, 5,000 exclusive residential beachside villas, 5000 shoreline apartments, marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities, health spas, cinemas and extensive dive sites.
The vision of The Palm was conceived by His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister. Construction commenced in June 2001 after many years of research and planning.
Each island will take approximately two years to be completely raised from the sea. A further two to three years will be required to complete the infrastructure and the buildings. The end-result will be the creation of two virtually self-contained communities within the islands.
© Press Release 2004
