Dubbed the city of the future, the ambitious Dubai Marina (formerly Westside Marina) is set to stake its claim on the horizon on the prestigious Shaikh Zayed Road with the first buildings now open for tendering.

Bids have been invited by May 1 from prequalified contractors on the first three towers, following the completion of the vital 3.5-km water channel last October.

The brainchild of leading property developer Emaar Properties, the futuristic intelligent city will eventually house a community of over 100,000 residents, and a bustling commercial district at an estimated cost of $4.3 billion over 15 years. It will comprise 3 km of beach, 100 low, medium and high-rise office towers, landscaped parks, schools, shopping centres, luxury hotels and medical facilities.

Neighbourhoods will have their own 'town centres' with parks and plazas, cafes and restaurants, hotels and shops, and a host of recreational facilities. All will be located around the meandering creek, which will be linked to the Gulf at either end and provide a safe haven for yachts and motorboats.

Dubai Marina is located in close proximity of hotel chains, beach clubs, schools, existing shopping malls, the American University, Dubai Internet and Media cities. The mega project, located on the west side of Dubai in Jumeirah, will involve the development of an area of more than 60 million sq ft over eight phases in 15 years.

The first stage of the development will see the construction of six prestigious residential high-rise towers, two of which will be 37 storeys high, and the remaining four towers will be 28, 24, 20 and 16 storeys high accommodating over 1,200 apartments and waterfront villas, and parking lots for 2,000 vehicles. The towers are expected to be completed by 2003. Around 40 per cent of the land is expected to be taken up by the towers all of which are reported to have been engineered to withstand earthquakes and will be built to the highest standards.

Three of these towers are named after precious stones: Murjan consisting of 37 storeys, Al Mass consisting of 28 storeys and Fairouz consisting of 20 storeys. The other three are named after Arabic scents: Mesk (37 storeys), Yass (24 storeys) and Anbar (16 storeys).

Al Futtaim Tarmac was awarded the substructure package for the first six tower blocks.

Substructure work on the Murjan tower started early last November while that the Al Mass for launched last month. Bids have been invited from prequalified contractors on the construction of Murjan, Al Mass and Fairouz.

The Murjan has 288 one, two and three-bedroom apartments in areas ranging from 925 to 1,100 sq ft for the single bedroom to the 1,870 to 2,160 sq ft for the three-bedroom units. The penthouses range from 3,000 to 6,000 sq ft in area.

The Al Mass offers 171 apartments, ranging in size from 887 sq ft for the single bedroom to between 2,002 to 2,362 sq ft for the three-bedroom units. The penthouses range in area from 3,000 to 5,843 sq ft. Most units enjoy scenic view of the waterfront.

The first phase will also witness the development of a shopping arcade for 60 retail outlets, public amenities and an open space for recreational.

Emaar recently signed a contract with a national company for the sale of 25 residential apartments on the project.

Emaar has also appointed Marconi as technology partner in its bid to make the Dubai Marina project the world's first fully on-line city. Marconi's brief is to design, build and operate a totally new information network for the city using the most advanced technologies and applications available. The deal is expected to be worth $550 million to Marconi over the next 10 years.

Throughout the various stages of the project, Emaar has placed special emphasis on the architectural aspect of the project reflecting the heritage of the UAE.

Emaar Properties announced the launch of the Dubai Marina project in August 1998. Other striking projects being built by Emaar include the Emirates Hills, Emirates Lakes and the Gold and Diamond Park

The Dubai Marina water channel was inaugurated by Crown Prince of Dubai and Minister of Defence Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum last October.

According to Mohamed bin Ali Alabbar, chairman of Emaar, the Dubai Marina was the largest undertaking initiated by Emaar so far, pointing out that the total cost for the preliminary stage of the project, to be completed over a three-year period amounts to Dh700 million.

The canal opens to the Gulf, providing the residential and commercial developments to be built with uninterrupted water frontage. With its extensive bridges and yacht mooring facilities, the marina will add beauty and glamour to the whole development, complementing the nearby projects of Emirates Hills, Emirates Lakes, Emirates Golf Club and Dubai Internet City.

The marina works, designed by Halcrow International Partnership, launched in 1998 were successfully completed on time and within budget by Al-Futtaim Tarmac. During the process, over 5 million cu m of soil were removed from the site using state-of-the-art equipment and water pumps to control the flow of water.