Qatar Daily News

Dubai government-owned airline Emirates said on Tuesday it planned to recruit 2,000 cabin crew in 2010 as it expands its fleet and routes.

The Arab world’s largest airline has hired around 660 cabin crew and more than 60 pilots since March 2009, a statement said. The airline’s total cabin crew stands at 11,000.
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The world’s biggest privately owned boat has arrived at the Dubai International Boat Show.

The ‘Dubai’, which is 531 feet (162 metres) and reaches speeds of up to 26 knots moored up within the Dubai International Boat Show and will stay there until March 13.

Dubai World Trade Centre CEO Helal Saeed Almarri said it was an honour and a privilege to have the boat at the show.

“We are looking forward to an outstanding five days of great business opportunities and providing luxurious entertainment as consumer confidence gains momentum,” Almarri added.
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Dubai Aquarium, one of the emirate’s flagship tourist attractions, reopened on Saturday following a two-day closure after it sprung a leak and flooded Dubai Mall, UAE daily Gulf News reported on Sunday.

Chaos broke out Dubai Mall on Thursday when water began pouring out of one of the panel joints of the main tank, which holds some 10 million litres of water, forcing the evacuation and closure of part of the shopping centre.

On Saturday, however, the only evidence of the drama that unfolded was a lower water level in the main tank, the newspaper said, adding that both the aquarium’s main viewing panel and the walkthrough tunnel were once again open to the public.
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The first hanging bridge in Oman, Khor Al Bath, connecting mainland Sur and the village of Aijah, has been completed. A project of the ministry of regional municipalities and water resources and executed by Strabag Oman, the bridge spans 204m with the biggest span measuring 140m. Construction of the bridge started in February 2008. The RO6m project will also reduce the distance between Al Aijah and Khor Bath villages in Sur by 10km.

Abu Dhabi and ConocoPhillips plan to award Dh36.8 billion ($10.02 billion) of contracts in the first half of 2010 to develop their Shah gas project, Emirati newspaper al-Ittihad reported on Monday.

State-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) said in February it expected to see first production from the joint-venture by late 2013 or early 2014. It is the first project the UAE has undertaken to exploit a sour gas field.
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The Greek government has agreed to establish a bilateral working group between Athens and Abu Dhabi, the Greek Ministry of Economy, Competitiveness and Shipping announced on Sunday.

The first meeting of the group will take place in Athens in the following weeks. The two sides will explore the possibilities of economic cooperation and the possible involvement of Abu Dhabi in the Greek Development Fund, as well as the European Investment Bank and other international financial institutions.
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Oman has opened its first terminal for cruise passengers at Port Sultan Qaboos. It is hoped the new building, which boasts a reception check-in, information centre, cafeteria, internet café, and restroom facilities, will boost the sultanate’s reputation as a stop-over point for cruise ships

Petrochemical Industries Co., a unit of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp., plans to build a third olefins plant that may cost as much as $5 billion, the company’s deputy managing director of olefins said.

Petrochemical Industries expects to complete plans for the plant this year, Yousef al Ateeqi told reporters in Kuwait City today. The facility may have a production capacity of more than 1 million metric tons a year of ethylene and should be operational in 2015, he said.

Construction of Dubai metro’s first rail line is scheduled for completion in April, and the second in August 2011, the transport authority said on Saturday.

Building works restarted this month after a settlement was reached with the Japanese-led consortium behind the project over about $2-3 billion in disputed payments, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

The fully automated metro network had an original completion target of this spring.

Construction of 18 unfinished stations on the system’s main line and another 18 on an unopened line started again on Feb 7, the FT said on its website citing contractors.

“The contractor of Dubai Metro Project, Dubai Rail Link (DURL) Consortium, is set to complete all the remaining works in the stations on the Red Line (18 stations) on 25 April 2010,” the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said in a statement, citing chairman Mattar al-Tayer.
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Fabian Cancellara won the race 28 seconds ahead of Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky)

Team Saxo Bank’s Fabian Cancellara showed off his amazing power engine as he finished second on the final stage of Tour of Oman and took the overall victory of the race. The Norwegian talent, Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky) won the stage.

Sixteen seconds separated the strong Swiss from the leader’s jersey before taking on the time trial but with an amazing power discharge from the World and Olympic time trial champion who was out of training in january because of illness, he succeded in closing the gap to the former leader, Daniele Bennati (Liquigas).