Components
Mall of Arabia, Restless Planet, Wadi Walk, Elite Towers, hotels, souq,
restaurants, retail areas, covered concourses, water features and
open-air entertainment facilities
Overview
‘City of Arabia’ is a core district of Dubailand, incorporating residential towers, business and administrative offices, schools, clinics, shops, galleries, restaurants and other attractions. It serves as a gateway to Dubailand and is one of its prime residential and retail centres. When complete, ‘City of Arabia’ will be a key tourist destination and urban community of New Dubai. Dotted with covered concourses and water features, it offers residents superb open-air entertainment and leisure facilities. ‘City of Arabia’ is slated to accommodate more than 35,000 residents.
Location
‘City of Arabia’ is situated beside Emirates Road, adjacent to the ‘Global Village’. It is linked to the other developments of Dubailand by monorail and to Dubai International Airport by Dubai Metro.
Total plot size: 20 million sq. ft. in Dubailand
City of Arabia is:
- Close to the ‘Arabian Ranches’ villa project
- 10-minute drive from Dubai International Airport
- 10-minute drive from Sheikh Zayed Road and Business Bay
A mixed-use development, City of Arabia is composed of the following zones:
I. Mall of Arabia
Spread over 10 million square feet in City of Arabia, the ‘Mall of Arabia’ is one of the largest shopping malls in the world. It is circular in shape and has a thoroughly Middle Eastern façade. The mall has 4 levels with over 1,000 shops, auditorium cum theater that will be its centerpiece, besides a bowling alley and 15-screen cinema. All the retail units are grouped according to type and include reputed international brands in luxury goods, household items, consumer electronics and toys.
‘Mall of Arabia’ is a shopping resort that provides visitors and residents a unique lifestyle experience. In addition to retail outlets, theatre and cinema, it features 2 roof-top hotels, restaurants and cafes specializing in exotic cuisines, waterfront Al Fresco dining and entertainment options. This shoppers’ paradise will be complete in late 2008 and is set to play a pivotal role in making ‘City of Arabia’ a key tourist hub in Dubai. ‘Mall of Arabia’ serves as a gateway to the ‘Restless Planet’ dinosaur-theme park. Most of the cars parking bays are distributed between two basement floors directly under the Mall, so that visitors can take escalators to destinations of their choice.
II. Restless Planet Dinosaur Park
‘Restless Planet Dinosaur Park’ embodies a concept that is relatively new in the Middle East; it is themed on dinosaurs and the Jurassic Age. The park is being developed in collaboration with the Natural History Museum of London and will be home to 100 animatronic dinosaurs belonging to 34 different species. They have been created by the Tokyo-based animatronics team, Kokoro along with Jack Horner, renowned paleontologist. ‘Restless Planet’ offers tourists, the ultimate ride back in time and firsthand experience of the pre-historic world of dinosaurs.
Spread over 500,000 sq. ft, the park will showcase an exhibition of genuine dinosaur fossils under an 80 meter dome, designed by Jack Rouse Associates. The zone re-creates the ancient world as it was being shaped by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and meteorite strikes. It is reachable through the second level of the ‘Mall of Arabia’.
III. Wadi Walk
‘Wadi Walk’ is a residential community overlooking a 10 km long canal within ‘City of Arabia’. The complex is composed of 5-storeyed buildings with distinctly Mediterranean architectural motifs. The ground floor of ‘Wadi Walk’ features retail outlets, cafes, restaurants and convenience stores, while the upper levels will house over 1,600 apartments.
The winding waterway is lined by trees, walkways and shaded boulevards. It links the residential areas of ‘City of Arabia’ with ‘Mall of Arabia’ and ‘Restless Planet Dinosaur Park’. Motor Vehicles will be kept strictly to the back of the project, while the boats plying the canal will be electrically powered to reduce noise and pollution. ‘Wadi Walk’ offers 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedroom apartment types, duplexes and triplexes. Read more...
IV. Elite Towers
The 34-tower project ‘Elite Towers’ makes up the residential and commercial areas of City of Arabia. It is composed of four 60-storeyed towers to be used for commercial and hotel tenants, twenty 45-storeyed mixed commercial and residential buildings and ten 30-storeyed residential edifices. ‘Elite Towers’ also has a 400-room 5-star hotel built over the entrance of the Mall of Arabia, a designer hotel on an artificial island in the 11km long canal in City of Arabia.
All towers are connected to the Emirates Road and have monorail linking them to different areas of City of Arabia and Dubai Metro.
