Beiruting News

Dubai is planning to build a temperature-controlled city featuring the world's largest mall and an indoor park, as well as hotels, health resorts and theatres, the developer says.

Already home to one of the globe's biggest indoor shopping complexes, Dubai Mall, the glitzy emirate known for its love of grandiose projects said it is now planning to build the "Mall of the World".

The all-pedestrian complex would occupy a total area of 4.45 million square metres, said Dubai Holding, the developer owned by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.

The project "will comprise the largest indoor theme park in the world" under a glass dome that would be opened during winter, it said in a statement.

The seven-kilometre-long promenades connecting the facilities would also be covered and air-conditioned during summer, it added.

Dubai has established itself as a global hub for air transport and transit trade, as well as a regional financial centre.

And it beat off opposition from Brazil, Russia and Turkey in November to win the right to host the World Expo trade fair in 2020.

AFP