Barcelona's future secure with Ter Stegen, but is the German ready for the present?

The Gladbach goalkeeper is set to move to Camp Nou in the summer to replace Victor Valdes but must step up to be good enough for the Blaugrana first team

COMMENT
By Enis Koylu

Ever since Victor Valdes' announcement that he would leave Barcelona at the end of his contract in June 2014, one man has been the overwhelming favourite to take the Spain international's No.1 jersey: Marc-Andre ter Stegen. 

Sure, there was talk of Pepe Reina or Thibaut Courtois, but the young German's name has never been far away from the gossip pages in Catalan dailies. And now that it has been confirmed that he will not extend his contract and leave Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer, it seems that the Camp Nou outfit have landed their man, who is yet to turn 22.

Since breaking into the Gladbach first team three years ago, his stock has continued to rise and rise. He was first thrust into the first starting XI in the place of Logan Bailly as a teenager and helped Lucien Favre's side survive relegation against the odds. He was the star of the show, along with Marco Reus. 

IN WITH THE NEW

Ben Hayward | Spanish Football Writer Victor Valdes returned to the starting line-up for Barcelona on Sunday following his recent injury, but the Spain keeper will leave the Catalan club at the end of the season and Barcelona are now close to agreeing a deal to sign Ter Stegen as his long-term replacement. With Pepe Reina (who is impressing on loan at Napoli) interesting several other top teams in Europe and still considering his options, Barca stepped up their pursuit of Ter Stegen in December and a summer transfer is now expected to be announced by sporting director – and former Barca keeper – Andoni Zubizarreta in the coming days. Barca have not ruled out signing Reina as well, but may decide to stick with current second-choice Jose Pinto, who is hoping to earn a new contract and extend his stay at Camp Nou beyond the summer.

The following season saw Gladbach produce more brilliance. Stunningly consistent, they pipped Bayer Leverkusen to fourth place in the 2011-12 Bundesliga. Ter Stegen was again one of their key players - only Bayern Munich had a better defensive record in the division - and was duly rewarded with an international call-up shortly after his 20th birthday.

The following term was far more of a disappointment for the Foals, who dropped to eighth place in the table and conceded twice the number of goals they had the previous season, while failing to make it into the Champions League proper after slipping to a disheartening defeat to Dynamo Kiev in qualifying.

So, the question remains: is a player of such little top-level experience ready to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world and, beyond that, fill the void of a club hero like Valdes, who is arguably enjoying his finest season with the Blaugrana?

Ter Stegen has never featured in the Champions League proper and was hardly a bastion of stability against the Ukrainian outfit in qualifying, conceding a slack goal at his near post.

Beyond that, Germany have lost in each of his three appearances for the national team. The first was a goal-fest, a 5-3 loss to Switzerland, with the young keeper culpable for one of the strikes. 

Three months later, he was thrust into action against Argentina after Ron-Robert Zieler was dismissed and his first action was to save a Lionel Messi penalty. Things went downhill from there, though, as Germany slipped to a 3-1 loss.

The nadir was in the post-season tour of the USA. When given a chance to impress against the hosts, Ter Stegen failed miserably, scoring a comical own goal. Joachim Low's side have conceded 12 in his three caps and the recent call-up for Roman Weidenfeller implies that the 53-year-old hasn't got full faith in his young charge ahead of the World Cup in the summer.

Playing for Barca is an entirely different proposition to international friendlies and Champions League qualifiers, of course. While Gladbach have a proud history and strong rivalry with the likes of Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund, nothing he has experienced can compare to the cauldron of El Clasicoor the latter stages of the Champions League.

That said, the only way he will improve in big game situations is to play in critical matches and there is little doubt that he has all the ability to become one Germany's great goalkeepers and one of them, Oliver Kahn, is of the opinion that he could become one of the best ever.

"It is really interesting to see how consistent his performances are considering his age," the 2002 World Cup hero said. "Everything he does, he does with such calmness."

Arguably die Mannschaft's greatest ever keeper, Sepp Maier is also a vocal admirer. "Marc is virtually on a part with Manuel Neuer. Neuer has just preceded him. He plays for Bayern and has distinguished himself internationally."

Ter Stegen has responded to big challenges in the past - it can't be easy to come into a team sinking like a stone and lead them to survival, particularly as a teenager, but Barca's management and fans must have patience and build up his confidence. 

His scope to grow is enormous and moving to Camp Nou will help him reach the next level, so his signing is a risk, but certainly one worth taking.

Why Chelsea need a striker & midfielder in January

The Blues' misfiring frontline have notched just seven league goals this season, underlining the need for more firepower, while Xabi Alonso could be the perfect partner for Ramires

ANALYSIS
By Ewan Roberts

This January, most of the sides fighting for the Premier League title will go into the winter transfer window looking to make only minor tweaks to already cohesive teams - but not Chelsea. 

While other clubs have minor deficiencies, the Blues need major surgery on an imbalanced squad and no side possesses an Achilles heel quite so great as the west Londoners' absentee strikeforce.

Samuel Eto'o, a last-minute panic buy in the summer, Fernando Torres, a player doomed to remain plagued by a record transfer fee he has no hope of ever repaying, and Demba Ba, a cut-price stop-gap. These three, combined, have netted just seven league goals this season – just over a third as many as Luis Suarez – and none have earned the faith or support of increasingly beleaguered manager Jose Mourinho.

“The strikers try the best they can so I don't know what to do,” bemoaned the downbeat Portuguese. “It is one thing to improve a player who is 20-years-old, which you can. If you can tell me, can I improve Eden Hazard? Yes, I can. Can I improve a player who is 30-years-old? How?

“If we had eight, 10, 12 goals [from the strikers] we would be top of the league. That's a reality, but my strikers give everything and the team works hard. To criticise does not help me. What do I win by criticising my players? I win nothing.”

STRIKER BLUES
CHELSEA FORWARDS v TRANSFER TARGETS
	GOALS	SHOT ACC	SHOTS PER GOAL	KEY PASSES
TORRES	3	35.7%	9.3	13
ETO'O	3	43.3%	10	8
BA	1	41.6%	12	3
COSTA	19	61.4%	3	29
ROONEY	9	43.4%	5.8	40

Whether Mourinho criticises his strikers or not, the likelihood is he will win nothing without a new forward. In the Premier League era, the title-winning side's strikeforce has, on average, scored 43.2 goals and contributed to 54.6 per cent of the team's total goals. Since Mourinho last won the Premier League that figure is even higher, with title-winning sides' strikers averaging 50.2 league goals, while the club who has topped the table come May has been able to call upon the division's top scorer in four of the last six seasons.

Chelsea's strikers, though, are on course to score a modest 13.3 league goals this season, and have netted just 18.42% of the side's total goals. It is a weakness that has the potential to derail their title charge.

When they have scored, it has often been thanks to opposition errors – Matija Nastasic's ill-judged back-pass to let Torres in against Manchester City, or Liam Ridgewell dallying on the ball to allow Eto'o's tackle-cum-shot find the bottom corner. They have scored too infrequently away from home, not notching an away goal throughout 2013, while the last time a Chelsea striker netted an away goal against a top-eight side was in October 2012 – and it was a player, Daniel Sturridge, who is no longer at the club.

Despite Mourinho's protestations to the contrary, Chelsea are very much in the market for a frontman. They had several bids for Wayne Rooney rejected by Manchester United during the summer, are monitoring the situation of AC Milan's Mario Balotelli and must surely be aware of Diego Costa's €42 million release clause – though whether they could lure him away from Atletico Madrid is another matter.

All would be a far better fit for a Chelsea attack that is missing a rather large piece of the puzzle. So often the club's current trio of strikers have been on the periphery of matches, with Torres the most involved with a measly 16.1 passes per game. Yet Costa, more than just a goalscoring battering ram, has managed 23.2 passes per game (in addition to his 19 goals), while Rooney tops the lot with 46.9.

Chelsea's strikers are less clinical too, boasting a far poorer shooting accuracy – Torres' 35.7% looks positively dreadful compared to Costa's 61.4% - and requiring more shots on target per goal scored.

MIDFIELD CONUNDRUM
CHELSEA MIDFIELDERS v XABI ALONSO
	PASSES PER GAME	BALLS RECOVERED PER GAME	KEY PASSES P/GAME	FORWARD PASSES
RAMIRES	51.3	4.5	1.2	65.1%
MIKEL	34.6	3	0.4	63.7%
LAMPARD	42.8	2.7	1.3	61.2%
ALONSO	68	5.5	1.9	73.1%

A misfiring frontline is not Chelsea's only problem, though, with the midfield in desperate need of reinforcement. The Stamford Bridge outfit average only the ninth most possession in the Premier League, and have just the seventh best pass success in the division. While Ramires, a blend of energy and power, fits the dynamic mould of player Mourinho requires as one of the holding midfielders in his preferred 4-2-3-1, John Obi Mikel and Frank Lampard do not.

The Brazilian is the side's best passing midfielder, averaging 51.3 successful passes per game (a figure dwarfed by the league's most prolific passer, Yaya Toure, who has made 75.1 passes per game), while he has more tackles than the other two combined. He is the quickest distributor, the most athletic and the best on transition, but he needs a partner in crime.

That could be Xabi Alonso, a rare ally for Mourinho at the Santiago Bernabeu and a player who could be available with his current contract at Real Madrid set to expire at the end of the season. The Spaniard knows Mourinho's methods and playing style, offloading the ball to the attackers ahead of him at much slicker pace and bringing a far greater degree of possession control.

Alonso averaged 78 completed passes per game in the 2010/11 campaign, and 68 throughout his three seasons under Mourinho, while he passes forward more frequently too (73.1% of the time). He also created 189 chances under Mourinho.

Unlike, say, Mikel, who sits back in front of the defence and reacts to danger, Alonso is a front-foot, proactive player. He was wrongly seen as the luxury player in his partnership with Sami Khedira, the German usually adjudged to provide the work rate and bite in midfield, but Alonso was Madrid's top tackler under Mourinho and, in three seasons, recovered possession (from tackles/interceptions) on 536 occasions (5.5 per game compared to Khedira's 3.3).

Chelsea's leaky back-line is also an issue, with Mourinho joking that the training-ground dummies could score against his side, but not one that requires immediate attention. When the side need to shut up shop, they can (conceding just two goals in matches against Manchester United, City, Arsenal and Liverpool), and a new midfielder would bring more solidity and control to a side that can look a little open.

A new striker, likewise, would help kill off sides and alter the mentality of a team that has been forced to over-commit in a bid to compensate for a toothless strikeforce. If Mourinho does not bring in a new forward, though, he could always consider fielding one of the training dummies up front as a last resort instead.

Jese a new rival as Di Maria's Madrid future hangs in the balance

The youngster staked his claim for a permanent place ahead of the Argentine after changing the face of the Blancos attack in the second half of his side's 3-0 win over Celta Vigo

COMMENT
By Ben Hayward | Spanish Football Writer

Real Madrid fans were furious. Already annoyed by the sale of Mesut Ozil to Arsenal, Blancos followers were disgusted to read late last year that Angel Di Maria may be off in the January window to join Monaco.

On Monday night, those same supporters were angry again, except this time, the Argentine winger was the butt of their ire. A desperate display from the former Benfica man brought the inevitable: he was substituted in the second half as Madrid badly needed a goal in what was becoming a tougher test than it should have been in the home match against Celta Vigo. Off trudged the 25-year-old, amid a chorus of jeers, to be replaced by Gareth Bale. Moments earlier, Jese had come on for Isco, and such was the impression made by the youngster that the Argentine could now find his place in danger.

Almost unplayable at his brilliant best, Di Maria was at his woeful worst on Monday: wayward, wild and one-dimensional. With Cristiano Ronaldo somewhat subdued before his two late goals in a more central role, the Argentine looked like the man to provide the inspiration, yet a poor performance only served to highlight his inconsistency.


The future | Jese made a key impact after replacing Di Maria
As he walked off the pitch, the winger made the mistake of adjusting his shorts in what was interpreted by some as an obscene gesture aimed at his vociferous detractors in the Bernabeu stands. "If Di Maria responded to the crowd like that, he made a mistake," coach Carlo Ancelotti said afterwards. But the player claimed the incident had been blown out of all proportion. "There was no gesture," he explained. "I was only adjusting myself." He looked to have a point, but the damage was already done.

Worse was to come for Di Maria as first Jese and then Bale (his two main rivals for a first-team place) helped Madrid break the deadlock and in the end achieve a comfortable three points. The youngster has been knocking on the door for a starting spot ever since his goal in the Clasico in October and hit the winner in the friendly against Paris Saint-Germain in Doha earlier this week. This was his chance and he grabbed it with both hands, with the forward made an instant impact as he shook up the Madrid attack and set up Karim Benzema for the crucial opening goal.

It is believed by some within the capital club that Jese can go on to become the best player in the world within five years and, at just 20, the forward is seen as very much the future of Real Madrid. Di Maria, by contrast, is already starting to look like the past.

There was no gesture; I was adjusting myself. My family were there and I wouldn't do that in front of them." - Angel Di Maria

"I love playing and helping the team, not talking to the press," the winger told reporters later. "I'm happy here. I have the support of my team-mates and of coach Ancelotti." And the Italian did not seem overly concerned by the Argentine's poor performance. "Di Maria tries to play as well as he can, but he's at a point where he is getting booed - just like everyone else has."

In the summer, the Argentine fought hard to impress Ancelotti and earn his stay at Madrid when the club were willing to sell him. Several months on, he faces a fresh fight for his future at the Bernabeu. And with Bale returning to full fitness and Jese making his mark, this time his days at the Spanish side may truly be numbered.

Work starts on $544m Dubai Canal project

An artist's impression of Business Bay extension project.

Work on the AED2bn ($544m) Dubai Canal project has begun with digging near Safa Park.

The 3km long project will connect the already extended creek from the Business Bay area all the way to Jumeirah beach, cutting through Sheikh Zayed Road, Safa Park, Al Wasl Road and Jumeirah Beach Road.

Turkish construction giants Mapa and Gunal Constructions have been awarded the contract to carry out the project, while Halcrow and Parsons have been appointed as consultants by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

Work on the canal is being undertaken through three separate tenders, one of which is for a 16-lane bridge on Sheikh Zayed Road. Another tender will be issued for the two six-lane bridges over Al Wasl Road and Jumeirah Beach Road, and the third tender will be to develop the canal.

Some service roads near Safa park and parallel to Sheikh Zayed Road have been blocked and traffic is being diverted to adjacent internal routes. A large section of parking area at the eastern end of Safa Park has also been closed and additional parking spaces at an adjacent vacant plot are being provided.

Although early moves to develop the canal are being made, work on the Sheikh Zayed Road project will begin at a later stage.

The bridge on Sheikh Zayed Road will be almost a kilometre long and will raise up to 8.5 metres, allowing luxury yachts and boats to pass through. And a number of marine transport stations, as well as jetties, will dot at various locations along both sides of the creek, enhancing water transport services in the city.

Ranging from 80m to 120m, depending on the locations, the canal will house various shopping, leisure, residential and commercial centres along both sides as well as four world class hotels, including a crescent-shaped building and up to 450 restaurants.

Safa Park, which serves as the epicentre of the project, will house a 50,000m2 shopping mall, six kilometres of beaches and a sprawling 80,000m2 waterfront walkway and leisure area.

The project will also have separate tracks for jogging and cycling and recreational facilities for children.

With a completion date of three years, the development is expected to further boost tourism in Dubai with an estimated footfall of 22m visitors.

Huge Saudi metro projects aim to shift economy beyond oil

A $22.5 billion plan to build Riyadh's first metro rail system aims to achieve more than improving the quality of life in the congested Saudi capital: it is part of an ambitious effort to shift the country's economy beyond oil.

The government awarded contracts for the system to three foreign-led consortia on Sunday. Six rail lines carrying electric, driverless trains and extending 176 kilometres (110 miles) are to be completed by 2019.

Similar projects are underway in other top Saudi cities; last August the government approved a $16.5 billion plan to modernise the transport system in Mecca, including construction of a metro, and Jeddah is preparing plans to build a metro that would cost around $9.3 billion.

The projects are part of an effort to improve social welfare for millions of poorer Saudis in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings in the region. Saudi Arabia escaped serious unrest, but it aims to ensure social peace by ramping up spending on hospitals, schools and other infrastructure.

In the longer term, the world's top oil exporter is trying to diversify its economy away from oil, to reduce its vulnerability to the next big drop in global energy prices.

The metro systems could aid that drive by changing the way Saudi cities operate, helping them develop easily accessible commercial and light industrial districts which house companies outside the oil sector, while stimulating real estate projects and other investment along the rail lines.

"I think the metro will transform Riyadh. With 170 km of rail, people will always be close to the metro. It'll not just solve the traffic problem but also connect the financial hub, airport, malls and other parts of the city," said Miguel Jurado, head of Spanish firm FCC Construction, which will help to build the project.

Ibrahim al-Sultan, head of the government body which supervises the project, estimated that each riyal spent on it would generate an indirect economic return of 3 riyals.

Concern about the country's extreme dependence on oil was underlined this week when Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, in an open letter to the government, called for immediate steps to diversify the economy.

The metro systems may also help Saudi Arabia manage its oil resources more efficiently; only about 2 percent of Riyadh's 6 million population currently use public transport, leaving most of the rest dependent on gasoline-guzzling cars.

Growth in domestic oil consumption, as the country's young population expands, has been outpacing rises in oil production capacity. So over the next decade or two, Saudi Arabia could be forced to cut back its oil exports; the metro systems buy it time before it faces such a crunch.

"The metro will drive down energy requirements for the transport sector, if the metro is incentivised by the government as a replacement to motor vehicles, and reduce environmental pollution," said John Sfakianakis, chief strategist at investment firm MASIC.

The Riyadh metro is projected to carry 1.16 million passengers daily when launched, increasing to nearly 3.6 million within 10 years - a significant fraction of all trips in the country, which currently has a population of about 28 million.

Splash The Cash

With the focus on football stadiums, roads and rail, it is easy to overlook the massive development going on in other sectors in Qatar, including residential and retail, as the country looks to life post-FIFA 2022.

But the launch of the $824 million Mall of Qatar at last month’s Cityscape Qatar, however, will have done much to emphasise the importance of non-football related projects for those looking for work in the years ahead.

As many as 12 new mega-malls are under construction in Qatar in 2013, with total stock likely to grow to 22 by end of 2015. This amounts to an expected gross leasable area (GLA) of 1.3 million m2, according to estimates by Alpen Capital – translating to a massive amount of potential for contractors.

“The retail market in Qatar is rapidly maturing at a very fast pace, and these proposed new ‘mega-malls’ will change the face of Qatar retail,” said Andrew Williamson, head of retail, MENA at Jones Lang LaSalle.

“There will potentially be many new brands and entertainment options in Doha. Qataris have been travelling to Dubai, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and other countries to shop, and now they want that experience at home.”

Indeed, the Gulf retail market has almost single-handedly kept demand for luxury goods alive during the last five years of  downturn, with the sector growing by 30% in 2011 – streets ahead of the 11% rate of growth seen globally in these tough financial times.

Qataris are the first among the GCC pack, with oil and gas revenues and a ballooning gross domestic product seeing the average national spending more than $5,000 a month on luxury products. Much of this cash, however, is spent in the shops of New York and London – as well as neighbouring Dubai – and not at home in Doha.

In light of this, new mega-malls seem like an attractive prospect and, as a result, developers are having fewer problems securing finance. The developer behind Doha Festival City – which is set to house Qatar’s first IKEA – earlier this year revealed that it had raised a $1 billion loan from a consortium of Qatari banks.

Lenders in the region a certainly feeling flush, according to data from Boston Consulting Group released in June. The firm estimated that Middle East banks saw a 6.9% increase in average revenues and an 8.1% rise in profits in 2012. Qatari banks were the biggest winners, seeing revenues grow by 12%.

Meanwhile, UrbaCon Trading and Contracting’s (UCC) announcement that the Mall of Qatar – due to add 162,000m2 of GLA to Qatar’s retail stock – was on schedule for completion before 2015, came with bullish pronouncements on the future of Qatari retail from its deputy managing director, Shem Kray.

“We are launching the Mall of Qatar at a time when there is clearly enormous untapped demand for quality integrated shopping, dining and entertainment facilities in the country,” he said. “Our research has shown there is a significant amount of capacity that has to be met in the retail area and our mall will be a major step in fulfilling demand.”

But just how sustainable will Qatar’s retail sector remain as such huge projects enter the market? In a recent report, property consultancy DTZ concurs that demand at present is healthy. Qatar’s Villaggio Mall has expanded regularly since opening in 2006 and benefits from a footfall of some 1.3 million people, a figure that has risen every year. Meanwhile, Ezdan Mall, which opened in April 2013, is 95% fully leased even though a large percentage of the shops are yet to open. Rents too are healthy

But, as so often with Qatar’s pre-FIFA 2022 development, the shadow of oversupply looms large. Qatar Pearl will bring a further 143,000 m2 to Qatar’s retail market, but large sections of phase one of the project are still available for lease. Potential tenants, it seems, have been put off by the design of the project, with much of the outlets outdoors.

Issues such as this, said Mark Proudley, associate director of consultancy and research at DTZ in Doha, demonstrates that retailers already have high-quality stock available and, as a result, are unlikely to settle for second-rate offerings. The one-million square metres of retail space planned for Lusail before 2020 will only add to the oversupply issue – on the outskirts of Doha, the area is hardly an easy sell, given Qatar’s ongoing transport and infrastructure challenges.

As in all other sectors of the Qatari economy, to sustainability in Qatar’s retail sector will be population growth; DTZ estimates that it will need to grow by seven to eight per cent a year in order to provide enough demand. The country saw this growth in 2011 and 2012, rising from 1.7 million to 1.84 million at the end of last year. It remains to be seen whether such rates can be achieved again.

But regardless, it could be the delays that remain so indicative of mega-projects in the Gulf that work to Qatar’s advantage. If Qatar’s Hamad International Airport is demonstrative of anything, it is that projects are rarely delivered on time.

“Our caveat on our supply forecasts is always that everything here tends to be delayed,” said Proudley.

“Yes there is a lot of supply coming on stream, but will it all come online when they are predicting it will? Probably not. So in theory some of your supply pipeline may be spread out over a longer time period.”

Logistical challenges could also be an issue during the construction process, with Doha’s new deep-water port still some three years from completion. A report from EC Harris earlier this month suggested that construction inflation could rise by as much as 18% a year ahead of the World Cup – supply chain issues, compounded by the lack of infrastructure – could compound this, hitting retail projects.

There is even a chance, DTZ claims in its latest report, that some of the planned retail projects could be shelved “if they become unfeasible”.

But unlike other real estate segments which confronted from global turmoil, says Alpen Capital, rental rates in malls have been constantly appreciating ever since 2006, with rental growth in prime malls is as high as 90% over the past six years.

More generally, the size of trade, restaurants, and hotels sector at current prices expanded 10.4% year-on-year to $9.8 billion in 2011. After witnessing volatile but largely positive growth during the financial crisis, the industry has settled to a growth of around 8-10% in the last two years, Alpen Capital estimates.

It is also notable that 77% of Qatar’s overall retail market remains scattered shops and souks rather than malls. The success of the mall model suggests that a lot of this stock will find its way into Qatar’s new mega-projects, keeping rental growth high.

Jones Lang Le Salle’s Williamson, for his part, is confident that developers on the ground in Doha know what they are doing.

“Developers see what is happening in the market and make long term investment decisions based on their local knowledge,” he said.

At the same time, the builders of mega-malls in Qatar have a wealthy patron behind them. Qatar remains the wealthiest country in the world, with huge natural gas reserves allowing the country to pick up much of the tab for 2022 without looking at private investment.

“Qatar has ambitious goals and the desire to create a hub in the region and it has the ability to invest in its infrastructure to continue the growth,” he said.

There is clearly the feeling in Qatar that tourism will play a role in boosting the retail market and creating demand, just as it has in Dubai. Dubai expects passenger traffic at its international airport to top 50 million this year, with its ruler, Sheikh Mohammed, targeting 90 million in the next six years.

Qatar will be hoping that it too can persuade some of the Western and Asian travellers that spend money in Dubai’s malls to instead come to Doha, especially after the opening of the country’s brand new Hamad International Airport, due to begin operations later this year after three years of delays.

Officials in Doha say that numbers are already up, with Saeed al-Hajri, chairman of the tourism committee of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, telling Arab News in June that arrivals are growing by 20% every year. As the preparations for the World Cup increase, these numbers are expected to grow even further.

Some analysts are sceptical that Doha has the same draw for tourists as Dubai, a well-established, heavyweight hub in the region, but others are optimistic.

“Dubai has created a unique brand in the world. Qatar is not trying to copy Dubai, but is creating its own interpretation of what constitutes a global tourist destination,” Williamson said.

Saudi gov't acquires 5,800 properties for Makkah MASJID

(AFP/Getty Images)

The Saudi government has reportedly appropriated 5,800 properties at a cost of SR75bn ($20bn) for the expansion of the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

According to the mayor’s office, the latest appropriations include the Dar Al-Tawhid InterContinental Hotel, Saudi daily Arab News reported.

The Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site, is undergoing its largest ever expansion, worth $21.3bn, to increase its capacity to 2 million pilgrims.

The first phase of the Grand Mosque’s expansion included the removal of 1,150 properties at a cost of SR33bn, while the second stage also included the removal of 1,150 buildings, Arab News said.

It quoted Abbas Qattan, the office’s assistant undersecretary for projects and supervisor of the northern expansion, as saying that the owners of 700 properties have not turned up to claim compensation. In addition, the processing of 900 properties has not been completed because of problems around ownership.

“The properties of unknown owners are considered state properties until the owners show up with the required documents,” he said.

He added that the government plans to build four power plants to provide electricity to the expanded area and a reservoir tank with a capacity of 560,000 cubic metres of water.