DUBAI // Developers in the emirate have announced plans to build a replica of the Taj Mahal that is four times larger than the original and will hold a 5-star hotel and shopping mall.
You would be forgiven for thinking this sounds like a story from 2007. From the early 2000s until the eve of the property crash in late 2008, announcements of vast, costly - and in some cases outlandish - developments came thick and fast.
That was before the financial crisis brought most of them grinding to a halt.
But the construction sector has started to pick up again, and the Taj Arabia at Falcon City of Wonders is not the only project to be launched, or relaunched, in recent months.
Meydan has announced work is to start on a development comprising villas, apartments, offices and a shopping mall.
Another reminder of the boom years came last month when buyers queued overnight to snap up villas at Nakheel's Jumeirah Park project.
Ahmad Al Matrooshi, the managing director of Emaar Properties, said: "The positive growth of the economy is reflected in the performance of the property sector, with all three Emaar launches this year - Panorama at The Views, luxury homes in Arabian Ranches and The Address The BLVD - recording sell-out responses.
"In other development projects for the coming years, we are expanding Dubai Mall by another one million square feet and will continue to explore new development opportunities in Dubai, having also finalised a land transaction with Dubai Properties Group in the Dubailand district."
The increasing demand has led to the unwelcome return of flipping, the practice of buying off-plan and selling on almost immediately at a profit. It was one of the biggest factors in the bursting of the property bubble.
"You get people queuing up for two or three nights and they create this frenzy," said Mario Volpi, the head of residential sales and leasing at the Dubai office of the property agent, Cluttons. "We've been party to selling properties from the recent launches of Jumeirah Park and other projects.
"Not at a great deal of premium, I hasten to add, because what's happening today is different to what was happening in 2008. Then, people were making premiums of 10, 20 and 30 per cent literally overnight.
"But to have 5 per cent premium on something that is relatively expensive in the first place in a very short time, that's like a payday.
"You shouldn't be allowed to sell on any off-plan property for at least 18 months, that would make people think about buying in the first place," he added.
csimpson@thenational.ae