ABDULLAH TOURS DUBAI'S LATEST LANDMARK ATLANTIS
By Muin Abdul MajidDUBAI, Jan 22 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi kicked off his two-day official visit to the United Arab Emirates by visiting the Atlantis hotel, the newly-opened multi-billion dollar development in Dubai located on the prestigious Palm Jumeirah.
Abdullah later headed for Zabeel Palace for talks with Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The prime minister spent about one hour touring the Atlantis whose interior fit-out was done by Malaysian company, LCL Interiors.
LCL chief operating officer Abdul Hakim Asmaun told Malaysian journalists covering the visit that the company completed its 150 million dirham-contract at the Atlantis three months before the hotel's opening on Sept 24, 2008.
The hotel has 1,539 rooms including seven suites.
Abdul Hakim said LCL's strength was the quality of its work and the ability to deliver on time.
"These are very important criteria if one is to be successful in a competitive environment like the UAE," he said.
According to him, LCL Dubai employs 2,000 people and it deployed 1,000 workers to carry out the Atlantis job, of whom 850 were Malaysians.
The other Atlantis hotel is located in the Bahamas.
-- BERNAMA