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IF we look at the website of the Trump Organization which has long listed the Trump World Golf Club in the expatriate center of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, as “coming soon”.
But 4 years after it was supposed to open for business, the 18-hole golf course designed by Tiger Woods faces another delay in an already overdeveloped city, this time until at least 2022, according to a senior employee involved with the operation.
When it opens, the project will test whether the Trump corporate brand has the same allure in a region where the former US president has enjoyed broad support.
Set in the desert and surrounded by luxury residential developments, the golf course does not yet feature any of Trump’s signature gold-studded markings. Instead, the ubiquitous name is Damac Properties Dubai Co., local developer and Trump’s partner who built the surrounding community, Akoya Oxygen.
While several houses under construction are occupied, vacant lots and vacant houses can be seen scattered throughout the neighborhood with names such as Mimosa, Amazonia, and Zinnia. On Friday, there were more security guards than residents seen among a row of nearly identical white and yellow single-family houses known locally as villas. Sidewalks and playgrounds looked empty, Bloomberg wrote on Sunday (28/2)
The golf course is mostly finished, according to Bryon Bell, president of TGR Design Tiger Woods. However, construction of the clubhouse is on a halt for now, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be named because the information is not public. The cause of the delays is unclear, even among the top-level people working on the project, although some have been told it is COVID-19 related.
According to the lead developer, Hussain Sajwani, is sometimes referred to as the “Donald of Dubai” and is close to the Trump family. Unlike some companies in America, Trump’s partners in Dubai did not shy away from him following the January 6 deadly events at the US Capitol.
“Shortly after the chaos, I was hoping to do more deals now that Trump is no longer president. I would welcome the opportunity to expand our relationship with the brand and look for more ways to collaborate, “Sajwani told CNN as quoted by Bloomberg. [photo special]
