The new 5-star Rotana Hotel in Khartoum, Sudan, on Thursday, Apr. 12, 2007. The hotel opened in February 2007 and is the city's first proper 5-star hotel...Khartoum is modeling itself as the Dubai of Africa and despite Western sanctions the city is booming. Away from the troubles and poverty that plaque the rest of Sudan, development in Khartoum is moving at an astonishing rate. Investment from the East, and in particular China, allowed the Sudanese economy to grow by 11% in 2007. This growth is driven largely by oil, with production rising from 63,000 barrels per day in 1999 to over 500,000 barrels today.