Dubai Holding, a global investment company, has unveiled plans to construct the world’s first temperature controlled mini-city, called Mall of the World. The project will “develop the world’s largest mall, largest indoor park, cultural theatres and wellness resorts with a capacity to host over 180 million visitors annually.”
In a press release, Mohammed Bin Rashid stated that Dubai Holding “[is] confident of our economy’s strength, optimistic about our country’s future and we continue to broaden our vision.” The plan to develop Mall of the World is intended to attract the two billion people living in the region and will serve as a ‘cultural, tourist, and economic hub.’
The 8 million square foot (4.45 million square-meter) shopping mall is designed to sit inside a glass dome, which will protect the city, residents and tourists during summer months. The glass dome will remain open during the winter months and the entire project will “follow the green guidelines of the Smart Dubai model, which relies on solar energy, grey water treatment plants to irrigate parks and trees, and other guidelines to guarantee new buildings are environmentally friendly.”
Not only will the mini-city host the world’s largest mall, but also the mall itself will be connected to 100 hotels, service apartments, the largest indoor family theme park, along with a wellness district and a theater district, similar to Broadway in New York.
In light of the rapid growth and development of Dubai in recent years, the United Arab Emirates’ (“UAE”) central bank has issued warnings about the future economic stability of the country. It expressed concerns about the real estate market in an annual stability report explaining that the “market [is] overheating.” Despite these concerns, “financial institutions continue to pour money into property” in the UAE.
The project will be built on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai and is expected to “occupy[] a total area of 48 million sq. ft.” There are no reports on how long construction will take, but Dubai Holdings stated “the project will be built in phases in alignment with the gradual growth of family tourism in Dubai.”
Dubai Plans to Build the World’s Largest Mall (PDF)