The pharaohs may not have needed planning consent for theirs, but a developer hoping to recreate the pyramids on the outskirts of Dubai is still awaiting approval from municipal authorities.
A decade after Falconcity of Wonders was launched to investors, the developer is still waiting to recreate such attractions as The Pyramids, Eiffel Tower and Taj Mahal.
While the project is already home to more than 2,000 residents in about 400 villas, the first of the planned pyramids is at least three years away.
The plan was for the area to be home to 75,000 people by 2021.
“The designs for the pyramids are with Dubai Municipality,” said Alharith Bin Salem Al Moosa, the vice chairman of Falconcity.
“However, with such complicated buildings and the drawing still not approved from the municipality it will be 36 months, at least, before we see them.
The development was hit hard by the global financial crisis and changed its business plan accordingly. Falconcity is now split into 69 different sectors, with sub developers in charge of various projects across the park.
The master developer has completed all the physical infrastructure such as electricity, sewage and internal irrigation to attract sub developers.
“I feel 75,000 residents is unrealistic,” said Matthew Green, the head of research with property consultants CBRE. “They have had relative success with the functional villas, but I think Dubai has moved on from rebuilding the Leaning Tower of Pisa.”
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