All the big names will attend, including World Bank president James Wolfensohn, IMF managing director Horst Kohler and Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The event - billed Dubai 2003 - will be held at the new Dubai International Convention Centre which was purpose-built for the IMF and World Bank event; building began as soon as the emirate was selected as the host by the international bodies.

Its construction demonstrates the importance the government attaches to meetings which showcase Dubai to the world, and further emphasises the administration's 'can do' attitude.

The main multi-purpose hall is some 7,760 square metres and can hold up to 6,000 guests, or as an auditorium can accommodate 4,500.

Sound-proof walls can subdivide the space into smaller venues. Overall, the centre can provide room for 12,000 delegates in more than 35,000 square metres of space. It is also only 10 minutes from the airport.

There are 22 break-out rooms with capacities for between 50 and 220 people. The centre also comes kitted with state-of-the-art electronics and technology, including high-tech security, electronic voting, simultaneous interpretation facilities, video-conferencing and satellite linkage. The centre is looking to capitalise on the highly lucrative meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) business.

Further evidence of the planning involved are the two luxury business hotels that flank the main structure, providing on-site accommodation.

Around 20,000 visitors are expected for the IMF and World Bank event. While the official meeting begins on September 23, the centre will host related conferences from September 17.

There will be seminars organised around the theme 'The Road to Regional and Global Prosperity - Challenges and Opportunities'.

Seminar topics will cover employment creation and demographics; gender and development; trade; water resources; institutional development and reform; globalisation; and new millennium development goals.

'The Convention Centre is one of the biggest such facilities in the region,' says Mubarak bin Fahad, director general of the Dubai World Trade Centre, which operates the Convention Centre.

He adds that one of the Centre's biggest revenue earners is weddings, with everyone trying to outdo each other with lavish and classy receptions, and to hold the most exclusive event money can buy. Such receptions typically run from US$10,000 to more than $1 million.

These figures are mind-boggling until one gets a sense of the figures - covered parking for 3,000 cars and kitchens that can turn out 6,000 meals a day, for example.

'Dubai is an excellent venue, especially with the rebuilding of Iraq. It is also positioned to capture the potential of eastern African countries such as Tanzania and Kenya,' says Mr Fahad.

He says Hong Kong business people should consider Dubai for business, and should look to exhibit at the centre.

'Dubai is at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and Asia. Strategically, we are ideally positioned,' he says.