“Mall of the World” would cater to 80 million shoppers a year. It will be connected to a family entertainment centre which will be developed in collaboration with Universal Studios International. This centre will be the largest in the region and is expected to attract 6 million visitors each year.
“Mall of the World” is a retail complex and 100 hotel facilities.surrounding Mohammed Bin Rashid City that will be located between Emirates Road, Al Khail Road and Sheikh Zayed Road, and will include Mohammed Bin Rashid Gardens Project.
It will be connected to Downtown Dubai and Business Bay through a crossing that will be named the "Cultural Crossing" which will include art galleries and create the largest area for arts in the region.
The new city project will be implemented by Dubai Holding and Emaar Properties and will be marked as the biggest joint venture in real estate industry regionally.
It represents a revival of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Gardens project, first announced in 2008. The 2008 masterplan had suggested the Gardens project would cover 74 square kilometres, and cost $60bn (Dh220bn). It is not yet clear how closely the new plan is based on that .
The project is divided into four components, with the park, hotels and Universal Studios being grouped together, followed by a retail component in the mall, and finally the art sector.
The Dubai Mall is currently the world's largest shopping mall based on total area and sixth largest by gross leasable area. Located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, it is part of the 20-billion-dollar Burj Khalifa complex, and includes 1,200 shops. [Wikipedia]
Official announcement via WAM
Image Credit: GulfNews and TheNational