Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed announced Saturday that the Persian Gulf emirate will soon start building the world's first climate-controlled domed city.
The city, called the Mall of the World, is a 4.3 mile pedestrian marketplace covered in a series of domes, according to Discovery News. While the project will be designed to be as big as a city, it is intended to serve as a retail center.
The Mall of the World will feature a number of attractions, such as an 8-million-square-foot mall with a variety of stores, and an indoor them park, which has been claimed to be the biggest in the world.
The domed city will be constructed by Dubai Holding, the main investment company of the emirate, and will require Dhs25 billion ($6.8 billion) to be completed, Gulf Business News reported. Ahmad bin Byat, chief executive of Dubai Holding, said he believes there is a high demand for projects like the Mall of the World.
"The way things are growing I think we are barely coping with the demand ... tourism is growing in Dubai," Byat said in an interview. He added that the project will take 10 years to be completed and that it will be funded gradually over the period.
"This is a long-term project and we are betting strongly on Dubai," Byat said.
The domed city will cover over 48 million square feet and is slated to include retail spaces, cultural venues, a theater district, upscale medical facilities and over 100 hotels, Discovery News reported.
Regarding the process of air-conditioning the whole city, Byat said the project "will follow the green and environmentally friendly guidelines of the Smart Dubai model. It will be built using state-of-the-art technology to reduce energy consumption and carbon footprint, ensuring high levels of environmental sustainability and operational efficiency."
Dubai is known for building huge construction projects, having constructed the 2,722-foot skyscraper Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest man-made complex.
