Dubai Unveils Plans For A 48-Million-Square-Foot Pedestrian City

Dubai has built a reputation as a shopper's paradise, but the emirate is undertaking a new real-estate project that includes an 8-million-square-foot (743,000 sqm) shopping center--purportedly the world's largest--to seal its place as a mall capital.

On Saturday, Dubai's ruler Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum unveiled plans for Mall of the World, a 48-million-square-foot (4,459,000 sqm), climate-controlled pedestrian city that will also include an indoor theme park, 100 hotels and serviced apartments, a theater district, and a 3-million-square-foot (279,000 sqm) "wellness district" catering to medical tourists--all under a single dome that is connected by a tram network. All in all, when completed, Mall of the World will be able to host 180 million visitors annually, according to the developer Dubai Holding.

“We are confident of our economy’s strength, optimistic about our country’s future, and we continue to broaden our vision," said the sheik in a statement.

Mall of the World will be constructed near Mall of the Emirates, a 2.4-million-square-foot (223,000 sqm) retail space that includes an indoor ski resort in the middle of the Arabian Desert. Dubai Holding has yet to release details about this new project's cost or completion date.

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