EghtesadOnline: On the surface, Dubai is plowing ahead with the kind of ambitious, eye-catching projects that turned the sheikhdom into the Persian Gulf’s business hub and playground. At the tip of its palm-shaped island, a swimming pool suspended between two towers will hover 170 meters (560 feet) above the ground. Closer to the city center, “water homes” on stilts will line an artificial canal dotted with floating restaurants and gondolas.