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28 March 2024

Dubai's Dh25bn Mall of the World will now be a 'future city’

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By Parag Deulgaonkar

Dubai Holding is currently re-working the master plan of the mega Mall of the World development and now aims to build it as 'future city' of Dubai.

The new components of the development include residential and office with the master plan being re-engineered to integrate public transport systems in the form of Metro, tram, buses, water transport, etc., to ease traffic within and outside the development

“The project has not been stalled… it is in redevelopment stage.

"What Dubai Holding wants to do given the strategic location of the land – which is as large as Downtown Dubai - is to have patience and search for what is going to be the very best result for the site?” said Morgan Parker, Chief Operating Officer of Sufouh Development, the new company set up to oversee the development of Mall of the World.

“We are trying to forecast what Dubai is going to be 50 years from now and so we are not building a project that is a statement on the world today,” he asserted.

The site in the Al Sufouh area is currently occupied by the Dubai Police Academy.

“The academy is not moving for next two years and so we have time to find the best solutions not just for development but also for the surrounding area.

"Our challenge is to create a tourism destination in a climate-controlled environment and not to create any congestion and traffic jams.”

The phase one of the development is likely to begin in the next 18 months with full construction planned only after the existing academy relocates to its new location in Dubai Academic City.

The project, announced at Cityscape 2014, is likely to cost Dh25 billion and will include a shopping mall with an area of eight million square feet, the world’s largest theme park, which will be covered by a glass dome that will be open during the winter months, a wellness dedicated zone, a cultural celebration district and a wide range of hospitality options comprising 20,000 hotel rooms.

“It is not just about creating the world’s largest mall, but seamlessly integrating the hospitality, residential, commercial and entertainment lifestyle options into the bigger picture.”

In fact, the Mall of the World will not have one large mall, but three urban malls, almost two thirds of the size of Mall of the Emirates. There will be dozens of public plazas and entertainment zones, 23 parks, hotels, etc., that will be linked to each other through air-conditioned arcades and climate controlled spaces.