Malaysia International Halal Park, Selangor State, Malaysia: The world’s first fully-integrated Halal centre and one of two projects for Limitless in Malaysia, this 1115 hectare complex includes homes for 200,000 people, food manufacturing plants, training and research centres, offices, entertainment and retail facilities
Puteri Harbour, Malaysia: US$450 million, 44 hectare development of landed waterfront homes – with individual berthing – and high-end condominiums. A 60-40 joint venture with UEM Land, this will be the country’s first luxury waterfront enclave
Halong Star, Halong Bay, Vietnam: US$220 million, 125 hectare mixed-use development with residential units, hotels, and education, cultural and recreational facilities, overlooking Halong Bay, a UNESCO-sanctioned world heritage site
Other projects
Limitless Towers, Amman, Jordan: US$300 million, 200 metre residential twin towers that will be the tallest buildings in Jordan. Towers will be connected by the world’s highest suspended swimming pool, 125 metres above Amman. First ‘green’ building in the country, with 600 luxury apartments as well as a retail, entertainment and leisure plaza
Moscow, Russia: 113 hectare development near Moscow, with 4,500 homes as well as schools, retail and commercial elements. The project is a 50-50 joint venture with leading Russian developer RDI, and will accommodate around 12,000 people
Al Wasl, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: US$12 billion, 1,400 hectare mixed-use development near Riyadh, including 60,000 homes as well as mosques, educational facilities, offices, shopping malls and hotels
Arabian Canal, Dubai, UAE: US$11 billion, 75 km man-made waterway – the biggest and most complex civil engineering project ever undertaken in the Middle East. Limitless is also master planning a US$50 billion, 20,000 hectare canalside ‘city’ as part of the project
Bidadi, Bangalore, India: US$12 billion, 4,000 hectare mixed-use development, including 1,000 hectares of office/commercial space, near Bangalore. The first of five new towns planned by the Government for the outskirts of the city, Bidadi will house up to 750,000 people
Downtown Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAE: US$13 billion, 200 hectare sustainable, mixed-use development consisting of four quarters, each with its own iconic, individually-themed plaza. Downtown Jebel Ali will have nearly 330 buildings, including 237 residential towers
GNP in Talks to Open UAE's first Stroke Unit in Dubai
Dubai Healthcare City's newly opened German Centre for Neurology and Psychiatry (GNP) in is in talks with a number of prominent Dubai hospitals to bring the first stroke unit to the UAE.
Stroke now ranks second only to heart disease in the UAE as the biggest cause of death and is the most common cause of lifelong disability worldwide.
The warning signs of an impending stroke tend to be discreet, disappear on their own, do not cause any pain, can be endured then forgotten. However, the consequences of a stroke can be cruel, lifelong, painful and impairing, leading to the loss of livelihood or family life, rendering life a misery, or causing immediate death.
And currently residents of the UAE have no fully equipped unit capable of reversing the effects of a stroke. Stroke patients can not be flown out of the country as with other conditions, but require comprehensive diagnostics and treatment within three hours to help avoid serious handicap, such as palsy and speech problems.
Stroke victims can only be properly treated by a unit offering specialist skills and technology designed to reopen coagulated blood vessels in the brain. A stroke unit is one of the most expensive wards to establish as it uses advanced, cutting edge technology. The specialists employed in such a unit also need to be of the highest calibre and as such command high salaries.
Dr Brosig of GNP says: "Dedicated units will open right across the emirates eventually. It is just a matter of time and we are actively trying to speed things up. We have now spoken with three facilities that have all been receptive to the idea, but finer details and funding needs to be agreed upon.
"To put it into perspective, there are nearly 150 stroke units in Germany alone and, ideally, each hospital with an intensive care unit should provide at least two to four beds for special stroke care.
"Dubai and the UAE have made huge and impressive leaps in healthcare provision and this is a crucial element if its top hospitals are to truly reach international standards.
"When a stroke occurs, no time must be lost before receiving adequate treatment, since 2,000,000 nerve cells in the brain and 12 kilometres of nerve fibres are destroyed each minute the victim remains untreated. Aging, physical inactivity, smoking and poor nutrition contribute to the growing worldwide problem of stroke.
"And the problem of the absence of a UAE stroke unit becomes more significant as an estimated 19.5 per cent of the UAE population is living with diabetes. Two out of three people with diabetes die from heart disease and stroke. Combining this with the regional problem of lack of physical exercise creates particularly high risk factors of strokes occurring."
Vladimir Hachinski, editor-in-chief of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association said: “If nothing is done, the predicted number of people who will have a stroke will double by 2020; however, if what is already known is applied, half the strokes could be prevented."
The World Stroke Day proclamation states “stroke spares no age, ethnic origin, sex or country,” and emphasises that stroke is rising globally, but is often preventable. “Prevention is the most applicable and affordable part of our knowledge, but prevention is neglected, particularly in developing countries.”
Brosig added: "In the case of stroke, time is of the essence or 'Time is brain', as a renowned neurologist phrased it, and this is why knowing the warning signs is a must. Warning signs should always be taken seriously and we should all explore the possibilities of prevention but also how to seek adequate treatment in the case of emergency. As much as 70 per cent of all strokes could be avoided by preventative measures."
Anyone wishing to arrange a consultation or check up can call +971 04 429 8578 or visit www.gnp-dubai.com
(Ends.) Pictures attached of a) Dr Arne Brosig of German Center for Neurology and Psychiatry at Dubai Healthcare City b) A patient in his mid-twenties, Timo from Dubai, being tested at GNP for stroke risk factors.
For more media information or a one-to-one interview, please contact Ian Hainey on +971 50 466 1368 or email ianhainey@hotmail.com
Notes to Editors:
• Dr. Arne Brosig, MD, PhD has many years of experience with vascular diseases and in particular with TIA (transitory ischemic attacks) and stroke. He has been elected Regional Representative of the charitable foundation “German Help in Case of Stroke” since 1994.
• Dr. Brosig has focused upon these topics for many years because of their importance, lately supported by his elder son, who – in the course of becoming a neurologist himself – has gathered more than three years of experience in this specific area of stroke units and state-of-the-art treatment at Zurich University Hospital, Switzerland, and at the Neurological Department of the University of Dusseldorf, Germany.
• Dr. Brosig also has extensive expertise in the area of neurological rehabilitation, having headed for years the first outpatient rehabilitation centre for neurological diseases in North-Rhine-Westfalia in his hometown of Grevenbroich, which he established ten years ago. In this rehabilitation centre the focus was very much on stroke patients, since stroke is the most common cause for various and serious kinds of disability.
• In the first instance, all efforts should be made to avoid a stroke, especially since vascular diseases or stroke are not restricted to old people as is often thought, but can also hit small children or people of any age.
• Today there are highly efficient medications available besides first rate diagnostic possibilities accompanied by nutritional advice, fitness exercises, stress relaxation therapy and other measures to reduce the risk of getting a stroke.
In its Ongoing Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility
Imperial Palace Employs a Number of Special Needs Individuals
As part of its corporate social responsibility initiates, for whom it has garnered a wide reputation, Imperial Palace hotel announced recently that it will be employing two individuals with special needs from among the students of the Aman Center for Special Needs.
The new employees, Mohammed Ajwad and Sawsan Mansoor, were chosen from the group of students who visited the hotel during the hotel's celebrations of Labor Day and the World Special Needs Week. The hotel had prepared a civil labor day for the student group, and it was then that the two students had the chance to meet with the hotel's management.
Mohammad, 22, will join the hotel's dessert team in the kitchen, reporting to the Food and Beverage Department. As for Sawsan, who is two years his elder, she has been hired in the Housekeeping Department.
Imperial Palace's General Manager explained that the hotel always tries to instill the concept of societal integration through long-term social projects, prepared to inspire a culture where individuals with special needs are able to practice more fulfilling professions.
"We believe that special needs individuals are just as capable of performing their tasks as those of us without special needs," said Abu Matar. "We saw it appropriate to allow the new employees the same career ladder we allow the rest of the employees in the hotel. We also made a few minor amendments to the work environment to guarantee their integration and comfort."
The new employees will be trained to acquire the various skills necessary for them to excel in their work, which should enrich their personal and professional experiences.
It is worth noting that special needs individuals are given great attention by Imperial Palace's management. The hotel holds various activities and events serving this group in one way or the other, and works to ease their habilitation and employment at the hotel. The hotel's management will continue providing such programs and different social initiatives to allow them to reaffirm their roles as capable and active employees.
