City of Arabia to add special dimension to Dubailand

City of Arabia is the brainchild of developers Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari, with the guidance of Dubailand LLC.

Occupying a site measuring 20 million square feet at Dubailand and valued at AED7.2 billion, the ambitious new development will feature a huge shopping mall, predicted to be the world's largest, and a breathtaking dinosaur theme park developed in collaboration with the Natural History Museum of London.

With the number of international visitors to Dubai projected to reach 15 million by 2010, City of Arabia is gearing up to be a must-see tourist attraction.

The Mall of Arabia, due to open in 2008, will have four levels, around 1,000 outlets, its own theatre, and enough parking for 10,000 cars. The size of the mall will be 10 million square feet GLA (gross leasable area) when completed, making it the world's biggest mall.

Outlets will be grouped according to type to make shopping easier, with all the best brands in luxury goods, household items, consumer electronics, children's toys, and much more available.

Designed on a circular grid, The Mall of Arabia will feature themed zones to guide shoppers through a cornucopia of shops, cafes, restaurants and entertainment outlets. A vast theatre-cum-auditorium will be the mall's jaw-dropping centerpiece, and a rooftop garden will serve as a tranquil retreat.

"The Mall of Arabia will be Dubai's first genuine shopping resort, a radical break away from conventional shopping centre retailing, and an exhilarating new leisure experience for every visitor," said Ilyas Galadari. "City of Arabia will be the largest private sector project in the Middle East, in the centre of the New Dubai district, and its realisation owes everything to the vision and ambition of HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum."

Opening its doors in 2008, Restless Planet will set a new standard for imaginative theme parks, with three rides, including a special 'dark ride', and more than 100 lifelike, actual size 'animatronic' dinosaurs.

Around 34 different species of dinosaur, designed with complete scientific accuracy, will be programmed to move, roar, and even walk. They can even track passengers with their eyes as they hurtle through a prehistoric world brought to life with astonishing digital sound and images.

Today's City of Arabia unveiling in Dubai welcomed Adam Sanders, Head of Marketing at London's Natural History Museum, which is collaborating in the development of the 0.5 million square foot, fully air-conditioned theme park.

A scientific exhibition featuring the fossil remains of real dinosaurs will also give an educational bent to the park, which takes its name from the BBC TV dinosaur documentary made with the Natural History Museum.

Mustafa Galadari said: "Industry experts estimate Dubai's retail business will be worth US$50 billion in 2010, and projects like City of Arabia are driving this amazing growth. Millions of new tourists are heading to Dubai each year, and the quality of Dubai's shopping and entertainment are massive draws.

"City of Arabia is the perfect leisure destination, and it has much to offer Dubai's growing residential population too, which is anticipated to reach 2 million in the next five years."

The City of Arabia development will also incorporate apartments for more than 35,000 residents and office workers. There will be 34 tower blocks, between 30 and 60 storeys high, and a complex of five-storey apartments fronting onto a 4km canal.

The waterway will be lined with more shops, cafes and restaurants in a development called Wadi Walk, and a fleet of water taxis will connect the residential sites of City of Arabia with the mall and theme park. Dubai Light Railway will eventually bring visitors straight to City of Arabia from Dubai International Airport.

Three hotels are in the planning stage: a 400-room, five-star property built over the entrance to The Mall of Arabia; a boutique hotel on an island in the canal; and a 45-storey tower near Dubai's Emirates Road. Construction of the residential buildings will start in the summer. Ilyas & Mustafa Galadari has appointed Palmer and Turner of Hong Kong as overall project consultants for the City of Arabia development.

Restless Planet and The Mall of Arabia will open in the spring of 2008, while the residential and commercial projects will begin occupation by the end of 2007.