IF THERE were any city that can play the role of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, it must be Dubai. The split personality is evident from the monstrous construction projects that are lining up the city's burgeoning skyline hiding the underbelly of class polarisation, labour exploitation and, above all, the rising cost of living..

Dubai's reputation as a regional corporate hub and tourist destination has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. It earns less than 10 per cent of its GDP from oil income. The city's world-class infrastructure, coupled with mushrooming free zones, has not only made it an attractive destination to run businesses in the region, but also attracted a large number of expatriate professionals.

The fact that more than two-thirds of the residents are non-nationals makes it even more unique. However, besides a creamy layer that is getting the lion's share of the end product, the middle class faces near elimination in the wake of rising house rent (an average of 30 per cent in the past three years) and other essentials.

Shailesh Kutty, a 34-year-old pharmacist, has spent three years in Dubai. Strangely though, he has had to take a step back each year away from the rising house rents. ``I spent a year in Dubai but couldn't afford the rent the next year. Hence I moved to Sharjah (a neighbouring emirate with cheaper accommodation). But after a year, Sharjah rents also went beyond my means and I had to move to Ajman (another emirate further away). I don't know what the future holds for me,'' he says with a wry smile.

Moving away from Dubai not only means missing the action with which the city has come to be associated. It entails cumbersome traffic snarls due to people's daily travels between the emirates. The story does not end there. Many young couples, both working to make ends meet, are left with no choice but to stay apart, one in company-provided accommodation and the other as a paying guest. Shailesh is one of them. ``I meet my wife over the weekends at a shopping plaza. We spend the evening together, sometimes watch a movie and then go back to our respective `homes','' says Shailesh, who hails from the Indian state of Kerala.

Dubai Municipality figures suggest that Dubai's population, which reached 1,241,000 on June 30, is 73per cent male. This is because many men living here cannot afford to keep their families with them. The impact has been felt as far away as in India from where men and women spend thousands to set foot in Dubai and often get caught in a world of deceit and unfulfilled promises, mostly at the hands of their own countrymen. Rental cost for a two-bedroom unit in Dubai has gone from an average of 40,000 dirham ($17,094) a year to 90,000 a year. This compares with an average salary rise of a mere 1.5 per cent, with most staff workers saying their wages have not gone up at all. This means rents have gone up about 20.5 times faster than salaries.

Even expatriates who have been living in Dubai for several years suddenly find themselves squeezed to the limit. With a sharp rise in basic necessities items such as food, petrol and school fees, many middle class expatriates are looking to leave the country. Families are disintegrating because hard-pressed employees can no longer afford to keep relatives in the United Arab Emirates. Increasing numbers of people are also set to move out of Dubai into areas where rents are lower. But even in even those areas, rents are fast catching up with Dubai.

It is not just History Rising the catchline of the Burj Dubai project but history is also being made in Dubai. The city is now using a third of the world's high-rise cranes. The $US800 million ($1.3 billion) Burj Dubai project is expected to attain a height of 484 metres. Four major waterfront projects are being developed and the $US3 billion The World will have 300 artificial islands designed to look like a world map. Add to it the $US4.5 billion Dubailand project the Arab answer to Disneyland and the proposed Metro railway, and the city is poised to be an exciting destina