Mourjan Marinas IGY Establishes A Strategic Presence In The Lucrative Black Sea Marina Market

Mourjan Marinas IGY, the luxury developer and manager of marinas and yachting lifestyle destinations, announced that it has signed a binding agreement with Russian company Sochi Grand Marina, part of leading Russian shipping company, Sovcomflot.

The agreement will see Mourjan Marinas IGY undertaking one of the most prestigious marina development contracts in this highly lucrative market with the transformation of the port of Sochi. A new mixed use development at Sochi, including a over 300 yacht marina, will help this strategically placed Black Sea port prepare for its role as host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Sochi Grand Marina has commissioned Mourjan Marinas IGY to develop both the new marina and land-based components at the Sochi development. This announcement follows a 12 month period of intense design, technical and business planning. The new vibrant city centre destination at Sochi seaport will also incorporate a long-distance passenger cruise terminal as well as high quality retail, residential and hotel accommodation, catering to the large influx of Olympic related tourism to this historic seafront recreational destination.

The revitalised seaport will be an impressive and welcoming point of arrival for visitors to the city for the 2014 Winter Olympics. It will provide the best international-standard tourist facilities, whilst its carefully balanced mix of functions will become a year-round destination for city residents.

Michael Horrigan, CEO of Mourjan Marinas IGY, said:
“When we formed Mourjan Marinas IGY we said we were focused on a growth strategy and this agreement is a really exciting development for us. The Russian market has great potential for marine development and we are pleased to be working with Sochi Grand Marina on what will be a dramatic transformation of the port of Sochi as it prepares for the 2014 Winter Olympics and its long-term future. This development will set benchmarks in the region and we proud to be part of it.”

Konstantin Sakharov, CEO of Sochi Grand Marina, said:

“The reconstruction of the Sochi seaport is a truly unique project for the Russian Federation territory and the revival of the seaport and coastline will be a great accomplishment for the region. The project includes the waterworks construction, a new passenger terminal building, reconstruction of the original Marine Station building as well as the build and further exploitation of the infrastructure of the coastal port.”

“We are providing the Sochi port with a beautiful first-class yacht marina which will be the first professional yacht marina unique for the Black Sea coast. Mourjan Marinas IGY is our chosen partner for this project as their extensive experience in marina development in the Middle East and Europe serves us well for this complex project.’’

Sochi Seaport is a major strategic milestone in Mourjan Marinas IGY commitment to the Russian marina market and specifically the Black Sea coast line around Sochi. Adjacent to the major cruise terminal as well as the commercial centre of Sochi, the project will feature luxury hotels, a retail complex and a marina clubhouse representing a prestigious development that well represents the high quality market niche that Mourjan Marinas IGY projects target. The partnership with Sochi Grand Marina aligns Mourjan Marinas IGY with a Russian company that is equally focused on facilities that represent the best in international standards for design, safety and service.
 

Meat & Livestock Australia Black Box Culinary Challenge 2010 Honours Culinary Talent In Dubai

Culinary excellence in Dubai was honoured recently during the prestigious and exciting Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner of the MLA Black Box Culinary Challenge 2010 which brought together 60 chefs from 15 top hotels and resorts as well as the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, who toiled in their kitchens for honors in one of the world’s top culinary competitions.

Organized under the auspices of Dubai Tourism and Commercial Marketing Department, by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), representing the Australian Meat industry, the main supplier of quality halal beef and lamb products to the local and regional catering markets, the MLA Black Box Culinary Challenge 2010 was held at Madinat Jumeirah and was overseen by no less than nine international culinary judges, representatives from the World’s Association of Chefs Societies (WACS), the Emirates Culinary Guild, Dubai hospitality industry and journalists from local and international F&B, social and lifestyle media.

Lachlan Bowtell, Regional Manager of Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) Middle East and North Africa, said: “Obviously, the Black Box Culinary Challenge has become an ideal platform for the hospitality industry in Dubai to challenge its gastronomic creativity and boost the already high standards in Dubai’s culinary sector, as one of the world’s most prestigious and sophisticated dining destinations. Contesting chefs showcased their talents in handling the best quality Australian beef and lamb products, which have become essential ingredients on menus in the UAE. On this occasion, we’d like to congratulate all winners of the Black Box Culinary Challenge 2010 and particularly, overall winner, The Address Downtown Dubai, as well as the first runner up, the Emirates Academy and second runner up, The Address Marina.

The list of participating hotels featured the emirate’s hospitality heavy-weights Madinat Jumeirah, Atlantis – The Palm, Hilton Dubai Jumeirah, Burj Al Arab, Coral Deira Hotel, Habtoor Grand Resort & Spa, Al Hamra Fort Hotel and Beach Resort (RAK), Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek, The Address Dubai Marina, Media Rotana Hotel, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Raffles Dubai The Address Downtown Dubai and Park Hyatt Dubai Hotel. The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management has also participated in the competition.

According to the Black Box Challenge’s procedures, Chefs have to gather one day before in the Black Box unveiling ceremony. Every team is assigned an identical black box that contains a wide variety of ingredients including Australian beef and lamb, from which chefs are able to unleash their creativity and creativity. Once teams’ ingredients are registered by the Challenge Coordinator, they have one hour to extricate their innovative nerve and produce four courses: appetizer, soup, main course and dessert. The judges mark every entry and the team obtaining the highest total mark is announced the Overall Winner.

After detailed deliberations between the Challenge’s judges, The Address Downtown Hotel was announced overall Winner of the MLA Black Box Culinary Challenge 2010, followed by The Address Marina and Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, consecutively. For the Best Table Display Award, however, Grand Habtoor & Spa distinguished its table with a fine blend of creative design and simplicity to snatch the Award. Jumeirah Beach Hotel’s table came second and Atlantis – Palm Jumeirah’s third.

The Best Main Course Award went to Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management whereas The Address Downtown received the Best Appetizer Award and the Best Dessert Award. Atlantis – Palm Jumeirah was also honoured with the Best Soup Award.

Rejoicing in winning the 2010 edition of the Black Box Culinary Challenge, the Address Downtown Chef, Daniel……., said: “We’re extremely happy with the MLA Black Box Culinary Challenge 2010 title, and I’d like to thank my team for their creative edge and also to thank Meat & Livestock Australia for providing the Dubai culinary industry with this unique opportunity that contributes to culinary best practice and encourage gastronomic innovation and excellence among prestigious caterers in Dubai.”
 

The Address Hotels + Resorts Win Top Awards At MLA Black Box Culinary Challenge

The Address Downtown Dubai and The Address Dubai Marina, the five-star premium hotels of The Address Hotels + Resorts, won two top awards at the Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) Black Box Culinary Challenge, one of the renowned industry competitions.

Chef Daniel Edward from The Address Downtown Dubai and Chef Martin Chiffers from The Address Dubai Marina represented The Address Hotels + Resorts at the competition held recently. The Address Downtown Dubai won the first prize and The Address Dubai Marina team emerged as second runner up.

Mr. Marc Dardenne, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Hospitality Group and Emaar Hotels & Resorts said: “The teams from our hotels have done a commendable job by winning top accolades at this prestigious competition. At The Address Hotels + Resorts, we believe in offering a vibrant and memorable experience to our guests and our restaurant and lounges are an important part of ensuring this. Our talented associates have helped us to deliver what we promise, and these awards are testament to their competencies.”

At the challenge, contestants have to open a mystery box and prepare delicacies with the ingredients provided within a specified timeframe.

The Address Downtown Dubai’s award winning preparations included Australian lamb with carrot puree, fettuccini and tomato caviar jus as appetizer, pumpkin soup with cream cheese tortellini, beef two textures with green beans and foie gras for the main course and apple compote with chocolate, spiced liquid, vanilla and raspberry for dessert.

They gave each dish a creative name which explained the state of mind of the person enjoying their meal. The appetizer was inspiring, the soup brought anticipation, the main course was intense for the taste buds and finally due to the change in flavour the dessert was called adjustment.

The Address Dubai Marina’s team prepared lamb cake tomato royale for the appetizer, pumpkin soup, duo of Australian beef rump for the main course and caramelia praline tian, espuma and raspberry for dessert.

Both hotels had eight members each helping during the preparation and service process. The work was equally divided amongst the team and points were awarded by the judges for taste, skills, originality and innovation.

The Address Hotels + Resorts is redefining the hospitality sector of Dubai through innovative concepts and a focus on its three unique propositions – a distinct location advantage, superior guest service and tangible guest benefits. For further details visit www.theaddress.com or call +971 4 423 8888.
 

RTA Adopts Advanced Method To Detect & Rectify Traffic Black Points

Work teams at Traffic & Roads Agency of Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) are currently engaged in developing an advanced procedure for detecting & rectifying Traffic Black Points in the emirate of Dubai. The step comes in the context of efforts made to curb this recurrent phenomenon, educate motorists on how to avoid mistakes leading to tragic accidents, and reporting black points against violators.

In explaining this advanced mechanism, Hussain Al Banna, Director of Traffic Dep’t at RTA Traffic & Roads Agency, said: “Areas witnessing recurrent traffic accidents are identified in accordance with international technical standards applicable in analyzing traffic accidents in areas classified under the scope of Black Traffic Points.

He added: “A systematic approach guided by scientific principles is adopted to detect black point areas in keeping with the best global practices, traffic safety guides, and scientific procedures & studies conducted in the field of addressing black points. This approach is based on several steps such as data entry of all traffic accidents in the emirate of Dubai, compiling & analyzing statistics through the applicable systems in the RTA, and identifying accident spots using GIS system; which does not allow for entering the same accident more than once.

“For this purpose Traffic & Roads Agency classifies short roads & junctions as black point spots if three accidents take place in a circle with a diameter of 150 meters over a period not exceeding 3 years. Parts of long roads are classified as black point spots in case of reporting 3 accidents in a sector extending 400 meters within a period not exceeding 3 years. The gravity of the dangerous spot is classified according to the resulting casualties and number of accidents that take place in the area.

“The mechanism of addressing black point areas is based on the application of scientific basis for rectifying these spots using the best practices worldwide through adopting the same procedures mentioned in identifying the locations witnessing intensive traffic accidents, where accidents are classified in the order of their types and reasons.

Among the accidents resulting in registration of black traffic points against violators is two vehicles collision (head-on, sideway or successive), static collision, vehicle overturn and other traffic accidents. The underlying reasons of accidents are well know and the top of which come excessive speed, reckless driving, jumping the red signal, lane changing, sudden swerving, negligent & inattentive driving, and others factors triggering traffic accidents causing extensive losses in lives and properties.

“Safety engineers at Traffic & Roads Agency are visiting sites designated as black point spots with the aim of monitoring and evaluating the existing situation taking into consideration a number of factors such as run-over accidents, intensity of pedestrian traffic, pedestrian traffic points, locations of the median, road speed limit, number of lanes, factors hindering visibility, road lighting level, type of road usage and the level of urban development. Safety audits are applied in conformity with the specifications highlighted in Traffic Safety Audit Guide in the Emirate of Dubai.

“Field visits made by traffic safety engineers are followed by recommendations, suggestions and solutions submitted for addressing the problems facing the said spots in accordance with the studies carried out by the concerned work teams. Following implementation of the suggested solutions, the area is subjected to surveillance for a specific period of time in order to establish the percentage of improvement of traffic safety situation in the area.

“Results concluded after application of black points addressing mechanism are evaluated and measured after making several modifications to these spots for periods ranging from 3 to 12 months.

“Thanks to the implementation of this advanced procedure for detecting and addressing black traffic points, constructive results have been achieved such as reduction of the number of mortalities from 29 to 10 at Sheikh Zayed Road in the sector between Defence Interchange and the 5th Interchange, following reduction of the speed limit from 120 to 100 km/h. The number of fatalities also dropped from 7 to 1 case at Al Khawaneej Road, following the closure of U-turns and reduction of speed limit from 100 to 80 km/hour.

“Not a single death case was reported at Al Amardi Road; which witnessed 5 fatalities before closing the U-turns. We can generally say that the drop in fatalities ranges from 30% to 70% in immoderate traffic accidents that took place in several black point spots such as Al Hudaiba Road following establishing of a crossing zones, and construction of humps at dangerous crossings of Midriff, closing U-turns at Al Amardi Road and other roads.

“33 suggestions made by Traffic Safety Section have been implemented to address black point spots registered in 2008. This covered some remedies such as revising the timing of light signals, constructing pedestrian crossings in areas witnessing recurrent run-over accidents, and erecting concrete barriers to protect road users in case vehicles go off the road to the right of way. 20 spots have so far been pinpointed for possible modifications; such locations are still under construction” said Al Banna in a concluding remark.

It is worth noting that RTA has also launched the campaign "Haseb" (Take Care) to enhance the traffic safety in Dubai through a number of awareness campaigns that aim to sort out wrong driving practices on Dubai’s roads and streets.