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Article: Composing a symphony for the eighth wonder of the world: one of the great engineering feats of our time, Palm Jumeirah is due to open in less than 18 months. It's a challenge for everyone.(THE LAST WORD)
- Article from:
- MEED Middle East Economic Digest
- Article date:
- April 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 MEED Middle East Economic Digest. All Rights Reserved. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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On 17 November 1869, kings, queens, princes and prime ministers gathered for the opening ceremony of the Suez Canal, an engineering masterpiece that was to transform Egypt and the Arab world. Italian maestro Giuseppe Verdi had been commissioned to compose an opera to mark the occasion. Verdi was late and Aida was performed for the first time more than two years after the first ships made the 100-mile journey between Port Said on the Mediterranean to Suez.
The canal was built using private finance in one of the Middle East's first build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts. The British and French governments eventually took over the canal and President Nasser famously ...