DUBAI // Crowds gathered in front of makeshift stalls on the pavement. Tourists went past in horse-drawn carriages, taking in the sights and sounds. The atmosphere was lively. People queued for rides at a small carnival park and the roads were busy with traffic all the way over the nearby Al Maktoum Bridge.

With the Metro service up and running, residents of Al Rigga hope to see it return to its former glory. Amy Leang / The National

That was Al Rigga Road during the Dubai Shopping Festival six years ago. But once construction work on the Dubai Metro began in 2005, the once popular area became deserted and desolate.

Barricades and diversions appeared seemingly overnight. Whole segments of the street were closed to traffic, scaffolding and cones marring an area that was once a tourist attraction.

Side streets became one-way, then two-way, then one-way again, confusing motorists. Signs warned drivers they were likely to be held up in traffic and to seek alternative routes.

But now, with its Metro station built and the service up and running since September, Al Rigga’s residents are hopeful that the very thing that almost destroyed the area could bring back its glory days as a shopping mecca for visitors to Dubai.

Many are optimistic that easy accessibility by train will bring in visitors who want to explore the city or shop in one of its older districts.

There is still some scaffolding to be removed and portions of broken pavement to be repaired, and unsightly silver equipment boxes for the Metro have been installed on a section of the road’s central divider. But life is slowly returning to normal. There are more people on the street, trees have been replanted, shops reopened, and the side streets are two-way once more.

“It’s easy to walk. Everybody’s free now,” said Mohammed Iftekhar, a 29-year-old Indian civil engineer who has lived in Al Rigga for more than four years.

He recalled the activity in the street during the 2004 Dubai Shopping Festival, before he moved to the area. “All the stalls were right there on the road itself. It was a nice moment. There was dancing, carnivals.”

The Metro construction work brought a range of inconveniences, including the endless diversions. “It was very difficult. We needed to [drive] around for long distances because a lot of areas were closed,” Mr Iftekhar said.

There was also the endless roar of drills and clang of construction machinery, and the temporary but extended closures of his favourite food outlets. “Everything in Rigga was cancelled,” he said.

“The street was almost completely shut down. You couldn’t even walk in the street,” recalled Zain al Abidin Sewar al Dahab, a Sudanese computer engineer who used to live in the area and at that time worked at a restaurant called Cactus on Al Rigga Road.

He said the restaurant’s business was also affected. “Before the Metro [construction work], what we used to make in the month of the festival was enough to cover the whole year. This place used to open until four, or five or six in the morning, and most of our customers were tourists.

“Rigga was a symbol of tourism in Dubai. Everything was special,” said Mr Sewar al Dahab. “I used to hear about Rigga Road when my friends would come back to Sudan and tell us about the shopping and the food there. ‘If you go to Dubai you have to visit Rigga,’ they told us.”

Al Rigga Street is bookended by its two major landmarks: the imposing Port Saeed mosque with its twin minarets, and Al Ghurair Centre, the oldest shopping mall in Dubai, inaugurated in 1983.

A short walk away is the Deira City Centre, the first of Dubai’s modern shopping havens whose opening in November 1995 paved the way for the shopping behemoths such as the Mall of the Emirates, Ibn Battuta Mall and Dubai Mall.

But beyond the glitter of brand-name storefronts is a variety of small businesses, antique shops, restaurants, shisha cafes, hairdressers and grocery stores that give the district a human touch. Many of the hotels on the street have been in business for years. Pedestrians pause to chat or stop for a cup of coffee.

Mr Iftekhar said the residents of Al Rigga were more friendly than elsewhere in Dubai.

“All people speak to one another. They say ‘salam’,” he said.

During the turbulence of the construction period, Mr Iftekhar said he found solace in the Port Saeed mosque, which he said had become a symbol of the neighbourhood.

“This is a famous mosque. Everybody knows Port Saeed mosque. I feel peaceful coming here,” he said as he put on his shoes after noon prayers.

He said he would meet friends later in the day for tea at a nearby cafe a ritual he has enjoyed almost daily during his time in Al Rigga.

Mr Sewar al Dahab still comes to Rigga once a day, despite getting a new job on Sheikh Zayed Road. One of the cafes he frequents is La Ibense, which draws a large number of the area’s Egyptian residents whenever their country is playing in a major football tournament.

“You should come to La Ibense when Egypt plays in the African Cup,” he said.

During major tournaments, a win by the national team, or Al Ahli, Egypt’s biggest club, sets fans parading down the street and honking car horns.

People here make their feelings known on other issues as well. In 2003, in the run-up to the American invasion of Iraq, more than a hundred demonstrators marched along the street to protest.

Al Rigga’s revival is perhaps most evident in its biggest restaurant, Al Safadi. Opened 10 years ago, it lost almost half of its patrons after Metro construction began in earnest.

“When they sat outside, there was no scenery. When the roads were closed, our work declined,” said Bilal al Bokharahli, who does the restaurant’s accounts. “You could walk on one side of the road without seeing the other side. People weren’t able to come here and nobody used the road. You felt like you were in a prison.”

Since construction finished, however, the restaurant, which is a franchise of a Lebanon-based company, has regained 80 per cent of its pre-construction business.

“There is a change after the Metro,” said Mr Sewar al Dahab. “There is movement. Life has returned to the street. I have hope that things will go back.”

kshaheen@thenational.ae

Following the successful launch of the Dubai Metro on the 9th of September 2009, the Road and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai is pleased to report the growing patronage of the Dubai Metro as nearly 3 million passengers have used the metro on the first two months of its operation.

“We are pleased with the public’s patronage on the Dubai Metro as we take inspiration from it to continuously provide them a world class service and environment in the Stations,”

said by Abdul Mohsen Ibrahim, CEO of Strategy and Corporate Governance Sector at RTA.

Abdul Mohsen Ibrahim, CEO of Strategy and Corporate Governance Sector at RTA.

“In line with this, we are progressively opening retail outlets in the Stations to add value to our passenger’s daily lives as they in turn help create a sustainable business environment for our strategic retail partners,” added by Abdul Mohsen.

The increase in passenger flow has created a sustainable business environment for retailers present in the Stations. The retailers not only capitalize in high passenger traffic but on marketing exposure to the public as well.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai announced today that they have released the tender, to lease out the last batch of retail outlets available on the Red Line. The shops are mainly located in City Centre, Al Rigga, Union Square, Khalid Bin Al Waleed, Burj Dubai and Nakheel stations.

“This is the last window opens for the Red Line. We have received many requests from the market and have put together this very last batch of shops to meet the demand,” said by Abdul Mohsen Ibrahim, CEO of RTA Strategy and Corporate Governance.

Famous retailers such as UAE Exchange, Community Health and Netlink’s Internet Heroes as well as F&B operators like M.H. Alshaya’s Starbucks, the Alphamed Group and Tradeline LLC’s Chowking already have their branches in Dubai Metro. EPPCO’s Aqua and Fresh Fruits Company are also the successful bidders now progressively opening their shops along the Red Line.

“RTA welcomes new retails to join the Dubai Metro mega project and be part of the success. We look forward to a long term partnership with them for mutual benefit and better customer service to our passenger,” said by Abdul Mohsen.

Tender is available for purchase at the RTA Headquarters at Marrakech Road, Customer Service Centre, Counter No. 12. starting from 19 Nov 2009 onwards.

With the world’s tallest building, Burj Dubai, set to be unveiled later this year, one could be forgiven for thinking that big is always better in Dubai.

However a recent report by Standard Chartered Bank suggests that it is the small businesses and entrepreneurs operating within Dubai that are the key to the region’s economic growth by driving employment, ensuring the successful diversification of the economy away from oil and other hydrocarbons and helping these new markets to become more competitive on the international stage.

A second dossier on the Middle East’s economic development reinforces the importance of SMEs to Dubai’s future. In the report, Mohammed Shael, CEO of Business Registration in Dubai, comments that “98% of businesses registered in Dubai are either micro, or small or medium enterprises (SMEs). We believe they are the fuel of our economy and we need to look after them [and] encourage them.”

The Government of Dubai is committed to promoting the benefits to companies looking to establish a presence in the Middle East both locally, via the Department of Economic Development, and internationally via its Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) representative offices.

Already recognised internationally as a global hub for business, offering unparalleled support and world-class facilities to the broad spectrum of businesses based there, Dubai has acted to ensure investor needs are met irrespective of the current economic climate to ensure its commercial offering remains compelling.

In 2009, 45% of the Government of Dubai’s budget was invested in the emirate’s infrastructure, with Dubai Metro already launched and Al Maktoum International Airport (the world’s largest) opening in phases from next year. This is set to transform trade – particularly the re-export market – with items able to be transported from port (Jebel Ali, the world’s largest man-made port) to plane in just two hours and ensure that Dubai builds on its position as the world’s third largest re-export hub.

Similarly over 30 free zones in Dubai offer unique benefits to businesses locating there. These sector-specific clusters are treated as ‘offshore’, allowing for myriads of benefits to be offered to businesses located there, including 100% foreign ownership, 100% repatriation of capital, and profit and no corporate taxes.

The concept of ‘convenience’ – with every facility under one umbrella – also allows for more efficient and cost-effective distribution.

The UK and Ireland representative office of the DTCM promotes the emirate via seminars hosted across the UK and Ireland which showcase the benefits of doing business in Dubai. These are often illustrated through case studies of UK and Irish SMEs who have successfully moved their operations into the Middle East such as strategic marketing agency Native, which has had a presence in Dubai since 2007.

Native was so impressed by its experiences locating in the emirate, that it created the Middle East Business Club, designed to encourage other businesses to invest in the region by working with Chambers of Commerce to help with market research, market entry and marketing plans.

Ian Scott, Director UK and Ireland for DTCM, said:

“That we have seen such sustained investment in infrastructure and support, even during the global economic downturn, reflects Dubai’s commitment to constantly evolve its commercial offering to businesses. There are 1850 different business activities registered in Dubai and it is this diversity which makes it such an effective place for companies to invest. At a time when SMEs and entrepreneurs need to maximise any opportunity to grow their business, we feel that Dubai is perfectly placed to support them with a robust infrastructure and strategic geographic location at the gateway between East and West.”