By IANS,
Dubai : A growth surge in Dubai’s marina industry will lead to the creation of 1,500 new jobs, according to a luxury marina developer and management company.
Island Global Yachting (IGY), in a statement here, said Dubai would be home to more than 20,000 berths for yachts within the next five years.
The 200 percent increase in berths on current numbers in Dubai would also lead to the creation of more than 1,500 jobs within IGY’s operations in Dubai alone, it said.
“The Middle East is experiencing an explosion in the number of berths as a response to the boom in the region’s property market,” Michael Horrigan, chief executive of IGY Middle East and Europe, said in the statement.
“Dubai has always been a city with a strong maritime heritage but with the creation of some of the world’s most unique waterfront developments, the city now appeals to a new market, the international yachting community,” he added.
IGY entered Dubai in 2006 in partnership with real estate giant Nakheel.
In 2007, IGY opened the Festival Marina in this west Asian metropolis’s Al Futtaim Dubai Festival City.
The company is also developing Anchor Marina – a 590-berth facility for private yachts between 10 metres and 30 metres – scheduled for a Dec 2008 opening.