2008年10月金融危机在全球大部分地区肆虐之际，迪拜最大国有开发商的首席执行长却公布了其最新的超级项目：一项耗资380亿美元、包括一座近三分之二英里高摩天大楼的建筑开发项目。
　　As financial crisis roiled much of the world in October 2008, the head of Dubai's biggest state-owned developer unveiled his latest megaproject: a $38 billion development that would include a tower nearly two-thirds of a mile tall.

　　当时Nakheel的首席执行长奥唐纳(Chris O'Donnell)在新闻发布会上说，我可以肯定，你们大部分人都在问，我们为什么要推出这个项目，如果你们没有疑问的话，就有问题了。他对与会者说，尽管在修建这座大楼的年月里经济会起起落落，需求会继续大于供应。
　　'I'm sure most of you are asking why we're launching this, and you'd be mad not to question it,' said the executive, Chris O'Donnell, at a news conference. Though there would be economic ups and downs in the years needed to build the tower, he told listeners, demand would continue to outstrip supply.

　　他说，市场基本面太强劲了，不会发生崩溃。
　　'The fundamentals in the market are too strong,' he said. 'There won't be a crash.'

　　之后，迪拜的住宅房地产价格暴跌了近50%。开发商大幅裁员，取消开发项目。这座摩天大楼的破土动工仪式很早以前就宣布搁置了。长达一年的支出削减上周达到高潮，迪拜政府出人意料地宣布将争取重组迪拜世界(Dubai World)的260亿美元债务。迪拜世界是政府很多港口、基础设施和房地产公司的控股公司。
　　Since then, residential real-estate prices in Dubai have slumped by almost 50%. Developers have slashed jobs and scrapped projects. Groundbreaking on the tower was long ago put on hold. The yearlong retrenchment culminated in last week's surprise announcement that Dubai would seek to restructure $26 billion of debts owed by Dubai World, the holding company for many of the government's port, infrastructure and real-estate businesses.

　　在这场动荡背后是世界上最严重的楼市泡沫之一。在阿联酋，约有价值4,300亿美元的建筑项目被取消。阿联酋位于沙漠地区，人口只有450万人，面积尚不及美国的南卡罗来纳州。据地区项目追踪杂志《中东经济文摘》(Middle East Economic Digest)估计，其中大部分取消的项目都在酋长国迪拜。
　　Behind this jolt was one of the world's most concentrated property bubbles. Some $430 billion worth of construction projects have been scrapped across the United Arab Emirates, a desert country with a population of just 4.5 million and an area smaller than South Carolina. The majority were slated for the emirate of Dubai, according to estimates by the Middle East Economic Digest, a regional projects tracker.

　　宽松的信贷、投机者泛滥而缺乏监管的市场、以及迪拜官员们的鼓吹，这些因素都助长了泡沫的增大，包括世袭的酋长马克图姆(Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum)。
　　The boom was fueled by easy credit, a poorly regulated market overrun by speculators, and cheerleading from Dubai officials -- including the hereditary ruler, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

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