Dubai crisis overplayed by Western investors

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The Pearl developer, which is backed by a consortium of investors led by Abu Dhabi's Al Fahim Group, has tweaked old designs to create a more environmentally-sensitive project, which it said marked a "new era" in the evolution of Dubai.

Almost half of the site area will be public open space and the developer is targeting LEED Gold certification - one of the world's hallmarks of sustainable building - in its use of energy conservation and waste disposal technology.

Joseph is not worried that scores of Western corporate occupiers will not sign up to appreciate these efforts, after quitting plans to expand into Dubai after its economy nosedived.

"That is another misconception. We are not simply building for (Westerners) but also for Asians and the rest of the Arab world. I don't think more than 15% of the property in Dubai is either bought or occupied by the western world," he said.

Those companies confident enough to make a move into Dubai today would reap the benefits of a depressed rental market, which has slashed the costs of business start-ups, Joseph said.

"Now we have a sustainable rental market for companies coming in. Rents had gone beyond USD 200-250 per square foot in some places at the peak. Now it is around USD 50-60 per square foot which is far more affordable and will help Dubai a lot."

Dubai Pearl has already pre-sold 500 residences at the first phase of the scheme, accounting for 95% of the initial release of units.

A second tranche of units is due to be marketed at a series of roadshows in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong in coming weeks but Joseph has no plans to market commercial space before 2013.

This first phase of building is costing USD 2.5 billion, and is already fully funded, mostly by equity and completed pre-sales.

The complete project is due for delivery in 2013, a year Joseph believes will see Dubai back firmly on the front-foot.

"Of course the global meltdown has affected Dubai but there are no Dubai-centric problems as we see it. Dubai was the last to crash and I believe it will be the first one to truly recover to pre-crisis levels," he said.