Dubai will break its own record to build the world’s largest shopping mall.
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Dubai has announced on Sunday that plans for a huge tourism and retail development, including the world’s largest shopping mall, were underway on the outskirts of the emirate’s current downtown area.
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said the development would include a park that would be 30% bigger than Hyde Park in London.
“The current facilities available in Dubai need to be scaled up in line with the future ambitions of the city,” he said. It would also include a retail complex called the ‘Mall of the World’, which will host 80 million visitors a year and include more than 100 hotel facilities, he added.
A family entertainment centre will also be developed in collaboration with Universal Studios. It will link to the mall and will be designed for 6 million visitors each year.
Located between Sheikh Zayed Road, Emirates Road and Al Khail Road, the project is regarded as a symbol of Dubai’s resurgence after the crippling debt crisis that engulfed it three years ago.
The Mohammed Bin Rashid City will also include an art gallery district and an entrepreneurial area for the development of local businesses.
Although no specifics were given as to the cost of development or its completion date, Sheikh Mohammed indicated that investment would reach several billion dollars.
He added that it would be built by the Dubai government owned Dubai Holdings and Emaar Properties.
The project was first announced in 2008, but was put on hold when the crisis struck. The original master plan indicated that the gardens would be 74,322,432m2 and would cost $60bn to construct.
There was no confirmation about whether that masterplan would be followed for the current project.