HOT IN THE CITY (BUT NOT FOR LONG)
July 11th, 2014
MALL OF THE WORLD
It’s hot in Dubai right now, very hot. Nearly 50 degrees in fact. As we melt and dash between air conditioned areas, we can rest assured that all is in hand. This city of superlatives is about to do it again. Fear not, because the proposed “City of the World” which has just been announced by developers Dubai Holdings, is going big on defeating the sweaty inconvenience of Summer in Dubai.
On the cards is a 48 million square foot tourist district that will host the world’s largest mall, a new cultural district, a theme park and 20,000 hotel rooms. What’s more, the district’s 7km street network will be covered by a retractable roof during the summer months, creating the world’s first “temperature controlled city”.
Here are some impressive facts if you want to drop them into the odd conversation and stun your friends…
The plans for the Mall of the World include:
- The world’s largest shopping mall, with a total of 8 million square feet of floor space
- 100 new hotels and serviced apartments buildings containing 20,000 hotel rooms
- Largest indoor family theme park in the world
- Cultural district including a theatre district modeled on New York’s Broadway, ‘The Celebration Walk’ modeled on Las Ramblas in Barcelona, and shopping streets based on London’s Oxford Street
- Dubai’s largest events centre, accommodating 15,000 people
- A 3 million square foot “wellness district” catering to medical tourists
- Temperature-controlled covered retail street network spreading over 7 km
