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The Rise of a Nation
The Al Habtoor Group is soon to publish a book commemorating the rise of the UAE and the big part Khalaf Al Habtoor has contributed to its success.
It was a vision of a new vibrant country taking in and adapting the best of the west, while retaining and nuturing the very best of the traditions of the middle east.
It involves the wisdom, flair and leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and the late Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who led and nurtured the entrepreneurial skills of national families who established firm business bases and from there developed flourishing multi-billion, multi-national business empires.
The company is Al Habtoor Group and the country is of course the UAE, which though it only became a Federation in 1971, has developed through the foresight and leadership of Sheikh Zayed and the late Sheikh Rashid.
With the demise of the former British administered Trucial States and the birth of the UAE thanks to the newly discovered oil wealth, the rapid development went hand in hand with the companies which were set up when the country was born - and the Al Habtoor Group is one of those businesses that prospered and grew almost as rapidly as the UAE itself.
The rise of the UAE led by Sheikh Zayed and the late Sheikh Rashid and the participation of Khalaf Al Habtoor comes together in a glossy coffee table book about to be published by the Group.
With a working title of: "Al Habtoor Group: Growing with the UAE" the books author, Al Habtoor's Director of Information Leslie Pope says it will explain the "raison d'tre" of the group and will be handed out to visiting industry VIP's.
The high quality book will feature photographs of Chairman Khalaf Al Habtoor with many famous faces, including the Ruling Royal families taken over the 27 years since the company and Al Habtoor came into existence.
The book will also show that Khalaf Al Habtoor has been a man of many firsts. Among these: he was the first man to open a hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road in 1979 with the Metropolitan Hotel; the first man to spot the potential of beach resorts in Dubai with the opening of the Metropolitan Resort and Beach Club in 1989 and the first man to build a house on Al Wasl Road, 1.5km after Safa Park, in an area which was then barren and empty.
There will be some 250 images, both colour and black and white, giving a fascinating insight into Al Habtoor and the UAE's growth over the years.
From those humble beginning's Al Habtoor has now diversified into automobiles, hotels, insurance, engineering, construction, entertainment, real estate and education. These divisions employ thousands of people. Some of the most amazing buildings in the UAE and Dubai are the product of the Al Habtoor Group's construction division. Projects executed include the prestigious and stunning looking Jumeirah Beach resort and the tower which soars skywards from is base in the sea just off the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. Also in Dubai the group has constructed three hospitals and is involved in the new airport terminal and the new air cargo freezone. In Abu Dhabi the group built the UAE Officers Club, which is one of the largest shell structures it the world - bigger even than the famed Sydney Opera House in Australia.
Khalaf Al Habtoor says that a stable economy is the best way to keep a stable country "the success of the UAE is based on the exchange of ideas between the rulers and the national business community and of course, the wise leadership and teachings we have received from Sheikh Zayed and the late Sheikh Rashid.
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This is a tale of the parallel development of a major company and the birth of a new country and how the genesis of both were closely intertwined almost from the start.
As Sheikh Rashid's vision took on concrete reality and he guided families like the Al Habtoor's, the UAE went from strength to strength.
The powerhouse behind Al Habtoor is Khalaf Al Habtoor who set up Al Habtoor Engineering Enterprises in 1971 - just after the signing of the Federation. It was one of the very first companies to be established under the country's new green, white, black and red flag.
Khalaf Al Habtoor has always maintained that it was the duty of the nationals in the UAE to participate in the development of the country. He paid tribute to the plans and policy which are the basic foundation of the UAE and which were set up by the Sheikh Zayed and the late Sheikh Rashid. "We all had a duty to assist them in their aims and goals." Al Habtoor says with pride. "From that time the company has participated in many major projects throughout the whole country."