If You Build, Will They Come?

Mind Boggling Figures

Today, Assafir proudly carried on its first page this fantastic piece of news: Real Estate Project worth 1 Billion Dollars to be launched in the heart of the Beirut Central District.

My father was so happy he printed it out for me, just in case I haven’t seen it. We talked about how many jobs this project could create, how this might alleviate Lebanon’s economical woes. We felt really proud..

..Until we read this piece of news in, of al places, Hariri-owned Almustaqbal newspaper:
27 Billion Dollars earmarked to develop a touristic project in a small island next to Abu Dhabi, UAE.

27 Billion dollars, for an island? That would be Just below the 35 Billion dollar of debt that has been giving Lebanon so much headache those last years. I’m not even beginning to mention Dubai, where a cute little 18 Billion dollar project has just been added to its mega construction site.

I have a degree in business, but everytime I try to make sense of this supply-sided construction drive, my mind shuts down. I’ve been trying to make sense of this by reading, and reading, and reading, but still, something just doesn’t add up and I can't put my finger on it.

Perhaps I’m wrong.