Work has not been suspended on The Tiger Woods Dubai (TTWD) project, according to its project director.
"We are not aware of his [Tiger Woods] comments but we have not suspended work on-site. As the developers and contractors for Tiger Woods Dubai, we are pushing towards completing the project," said Abdulla Al Gurg, Project Director, The Tiger Woods Dubai. He told Emirates Business the timeline of the project would be announced in the "near future". The project developer is Tatweer, a division of Dubai Holding.
A recent agency report said the first golf course Tiger Woods is designing in the region might not be the first to open. According to the report, Woods told media on Friday that construction on Al Ruwaya Golf Course in Dubai is on hold because of the economic slowdown in the UAE, pushing back the scheduled opening by at least six months.
"It's six months as of right now," Woods said in the interview. "It's going to be behind schedule. Obviously, the economy has turned over there and they've slowed down construction because of it." The course was to open this fall, but Woods said it could be next summer. "It all depends," he said. "The economy needs to turn around. If it gets stimulated, we can pick up to the point where we might open earlier, but who knows? It's out of my hands."
Woods said Beau Welling, his chief architect at Tiger Woods Design, has continued to travel between Dubai and two other courses under construction in North Carolina (The Cliffs at High Carolina) and Mexico (Punta Brava). His course in Dubai had only three holes under construction when work was suspended, said the AFP report. "We're making sure we get the holes completed – the holes we have," he said. "I think we have three holes right now."
He said the course in Dubai needs irrigation to keep the sand in place because of arid conditions and the wind.
Woods said on one of his visits, the sweeping wind "changed the whole outline of one hole", according to the report. Woods said his courses in North Carolina and Mexico are awaiting various permits, but otherwise are on schedule. The Cliffs at High Carolina is expected to be finished in the middle of 2010, while the Mexico course with spectacular ocean views is not scheduled for completion until late 2010, said the report.
Gurg dismissed the reports. "But as a matter, the subject of six months or one year is not an accurate number," he said. "We are committed to the continuation of the project," he added.
"The latest update on the project is that we have completed three holes," said Gurg. "We have confirmed 250 containers of trees and plants to come into Dubai and it is equivalent of 30 to 40 containers per month. We are also increasing the works on hole 14 and 2 and will start grassing them in the coming two and a half months. We are also working on our pump station, which will be completed by September. Besides, major infrastructure work is being undertaken on the lakes. Hence, I have no understanding where such comments are coming from."
On May 17, TTWD had said in a statement that around 1,500 yards of grass in three different varieties including Tifway 419, TifEagle, and Tifdwarf, all procured from Atlanta, Georgia, in the US, has been laid on holes 4 (par 4), 5 (par 5) and 6 (par 4) at the championship golf course.
It also said that the development continued to progress with the completion of bulk earth works. Around 2,243 trees have already been planted and a further 6,000 are in the nursery. Rough shaping is complete on all 18 holes, 10 of which have been finely shaped. Construction is also complete on the main stream and one of the lakes comprising the vast 3.3 million square feet of water features incorporated into the golf course.
Work has also commenced on the 132kV electrical substation to be managed by Tatweer's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Real Estate and Zoning team. More than 6,500 tonnes of concrete and 460 tonnes of steel have been used to raise the structure, which will be located on a plot spanning 3,800 sq ft. All major equipment for the substation will be installed shortly, added the statement.
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