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Dubai: Ajman had big plans for the future with a huge shopping complex to be built on reclaimed land 29 years ago, but somehow those ideas were never realised.
The Ruler's Office and the Ajman Federal Public Prosecution are today situated on that reclaimed land.
In an article (below) from October 23, 1978, it was reported that a Dh75 million shopping complex and civic centre were to be constructed on that land overlooking the sea. Other plans for the land included a residential area suitable for terraced flats over the Souq Basin and the future Government House.
The project was expected to be completed within two years.
At the time, the Ajman Beach Hotel was almost completed and the development plans also included two more international hotels.
Development plans
The promise of building two international hotels is coming to frutition; one hotel, the Ajman Kempinski, opened in 1998.
The foundation of the second hotel is currently under construction between the Kempinski Hotel and the three-star Beach Hotel that still exists.
Gulf News spoke to Mohammad Bin Omair, the present director of the Planning and Survey Department at Ajman Municipality. He said the second hotel mentioned in the article is under construction at a cost of Dh5 billion and will include a harbour for yachts.
Bin Omair said further development plans include launching Ajman Boulevard that will be located near Emirates Road and will contain 10 towers in addition to a trade centre.
Ulrich Eckhardt, President for the Middle East and Africa of Kempinski Hotels, is proud to have been a major contributor to the destination marketing of Ajman due to its efforts in creating awareness of the location and its attractions.
The question
"When I first came to the UAE to open this hotel, there was a question I used to be asked by many people on a daily basis: why Ajman? I used to say: why not?"
Eckhardt does not face those questions any longer. "I have lived to see the attitudes of people change and their perceptions reform. This is a memory I will always carry with me and share with as many people as I can."
Ajman is completely different from what it used to be and we only have to look back five years ago, he said, as the emirate had only a few hotels and shops, and there were very few restaurants or shopping malls.
The lifestyle in Ajman has always been calm and relaxing, and Eckhardt is pleased that no drastic changes had been made to the slow pace of life.
"Projects are coming up but in a timely manner. Even if we see a construction site or two, everything is pretty much the same and it still has one of the loveliest beaches around," he said.
Sana Ali Fateh, a 30-year-old UAE national, remembers the days when the beach used to stretch out a few extra miles and she used to run across the shore as a child.
"I used to go everyday after school to play with my family on the beach, and it's a strange feeling that the area is now covered with land. I have fond memories of that beach, and it's a shame that it has disappeared over the years and turned into private property."
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