http://www.thenational.ae/article/20081220/BUSINESS/572436878/-1/ART

‘Memories of forced settlements’

* Last Updated: December 20. 2008 6:37PM UAE / December 20. 2008 2:37PM GMT

A Dubai developer intent on building the largest entertainment destination in Africa is coming up against a surprisingly formidable opponent in the form of about 3,000 Zulu farmers.

Ruwaad Holdings, a subsidiary of Dubai 9 Group, unveiled at Cityscape Dubai in October its plans to build the massive Amazulu World project in South Africa. Flanked by a Zulu king and the premier of the KwaZulu-Natal province, officials from the company said the project to be an entertainment and leisure mini-city would take 25 years and cover a 16,500-hectare piece of coast. In typical Dubai fashion, the multibillion-dirham project would include a theme park, golf courses and a giant shopping mall. A 106-metre-high statue of the Zulu warrior, King Shaka, would loom above the site.