As reported by Arabian business, Prime office rents in the Middle East have fallen off a list of the world's top ten most expensive locations, according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank. Commercial rents in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which were ranked the world's sixth and seventh priciest in 2010, have failed to make the top ten this year amid oversupply and falling rates. "The high levels of development activity in recent years have left many of these locations with an oversupply of office space, forcing landlords to reduce rents further to attract tenants. Prime office rents fell by 10-20 percent during 2010 in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and are likely to fall further in 2011.," analysts said. A five-year property boom in Dubai collapsed at the end of 2008 amid the global financial crisis, halving real estate prices. In neighboring Abu Dhabi, property prices fell around 45 percent. In Dubai's tax-free business hub, DIFC, rents have fallen 50 percent from their 2008-peak while approximately 200,000 square meter of office space is expected to be delivered by third party developers over the next 18 to 24 months, said Knight Frank. London's West End takes the top spot for the most expensive office rents in the world, up from second in 2010. Tokyo, Japan has dropped one spot this year, followed by Hong Kong and Moscow, said Knight Frank.

As Inhabitat.com reported, the world's first floating golf course is planned to be built in the Maldives. "If you build it - they will come" is credo for developers. Located five minutes from the Maldives airport, the 18-hole golf course will include luxurious accommodations, which overlook the green fairways and the surrounding reef. The golf course is doubly groundbreaking as it will be built on floating platforms, making it the first floating golf course, and it is also designed to minimize its impact on the surrounding ecosystem. The artificial floating islands will incorporate technologies such as water cooling, water desalination, and the use of floating solar blanket fields. Underwater tunnels will connect the holes and facilities together, while allowing golfers to experience the reef. Koen Olthuis-led Waterstudio.NL is in charge of the conceptual design of the golf course, while the developer Dutch Docklands is working on the engineering to make the floating golf course possible. Troon Golf, leading developer of golf courses, is working as a technical adviser to the project, which is expected to cost $500 million. The state-of-the-art golf courses are expected to bring new wealth, investment and tourism to the country. Building such a novel tourist attraction will also likely help spur on new floating developments, which they country will likely need as sea levels rise.

According to a new report released by the New York Building Congress this week, construction spending in New York City dropped by 12 percent last year, falling to its lowest level since 2005. Despite the city's economy slowly regaining jobs, builders cut back on residential housing and commercial office buildings during 2010. Overall spending on construction in New York City in 2010 was $23.7 billion compared to $27.1 billion in 2009. One potential reason for this drop could be the completion of two major construction projects in 2009, the new Yankee Stadium and Citi Field. Both sports arenas provided significant temporary boosts to New York's construction industry that leveled off after the projects wrapped up. Another reason is this, during the real-estate boom, the construction industry churned out 34,000 homes or apartments a year. Last year it produced only about 5,400. There was also a significant decrease in government spending on construction projects. In 2009 the combined government spending was $15.7 billion; however in 2010 only $13.5 billion was spent. The number of construction jobs in New York City fell by 8,900 in 2010, down to a total of 111,800. This was the lowest number of construction workers active in the city since 2004. It would have been even worse if not for a few large projects, including the World Trade Center and the new basketball arena at the Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn. Since reaching its peak at over $31 billion in 2007, construction spending in New York City has dropped by 23 percent over the last four years. The New York Building Congress estimates that construction spending will level off at about $24 billion for 2011.

As reported Bahia Fenicia Residencial S.L, it is expected that the construction of the first seven-star hotel in Spain will begin in the end of 2011, when all necessary formalities are settled. Bahia Fenicia will be built at the resort of Almunecar Costa Tropical Spain, in the province of Granada, on the coast of the Costa Tropical resort. It's to be conducted in three phases, with phase I - the hotel and 50 private apartments - due for completion in 2013. Almunecar Town Hall said Phases II and III will be under construction in 2014 and 2015 respectively. According to Ria Novosti, for the construction of the hotel authorities of the Spanish coast have allocated 13.3 thousand square meters of land. It will be designed for 200 rooms with a total area of 32 thousand square meters. A new ambitious project will be realized by the Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts hotel chain. The project cost is estimated at 230 million Euros. As expected, the hotel's construction will create on the Costa Tropical 600 new jobs. The hotel Bahia Fenicia will be one of the few seven-star hotels in the world. The first seven-star hotel in the world is Dubai's famous hotel Burj Al Arab. Seven-star hotels of the world are Seven Stars Resort on the Caribbean islands, the Milan Town House Galleria, Morgan Plaza Beijing and Flor de Oriente in Iran. There are plans to build seven-star hotels in Istanbul, Islamabad and in the Peruvian Sacred Valley of the Incas.

According to Al Wasat newspaper of Bahrain, construction work of the causeway is expected to start before the end of 2011 and conclude in 2015. The total cost of Qatar-Bahrain Causeway, one of the longest bridges in the world, is likely to be in the tune of $5bn, which will be the largest amount of money spend on any causeway. Construction plans were delayed many times for new designs and amendments were introduced to the project. The causeway starts from Askar village located in the eastern side of Bahrain Island to Ras Ishairij in Qatar. The total cost is between $ 4,5-5,0bn and expected to rise to $5,5bn to meet the cost of new designs, construction materials and other development projects. Qatar-Bahrain causeway is of 40km length including four vehicle lanes and two railways. Consortium of Al Diyar Real Estate Company, Vinci Grand Projects, French Contracting Company, German Hochtief Company, Consolidated Contractors International Company in Greece and Middle East Dredging Company, will be in charge of construction work, the daily said. The causeway construction will help achieve economic integration and sustainable development between the two states. More investments from Qatar in terms of real estate and stock market will be attracted to revive business and development of eastern and south-east areas in Bahrain.