Dubai announced plans to built the world's largest mall that is expected to be 30 percent bigger than London's Hyde Park. (AFP)
The United Arab Emirates announced plans for new mega-mall that could literally be a shop-till-you drop experience.
Dubai says it will build a new tourism-retail center dubbed the Mall of the World that will include the shopping complex that would outclass the Dubai Mall, previously billed as the worlds largest. The Dubai Mall currently has 1,200 stores and 160 food and beverage outlets.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the UAE vice president, prime minister and ruler of Dubai, revealed plans for the new tourism city via an official statement and Twitter.
“Today we launched new city in Dubai, it will host world’s largest mall accommodating 80 million shoppers a year and a park that will receive 35 million,” the royal tweeted on Saturday.
The shopping center named the Mall of the World and hyped as the world's largest, is planned for the outskirts of downtown in the United Arab Emirates shopping mecca. The massive complex is projected to attract 80 million visitors annually, reports the International Business Times.
Plans for the new development include more than 100 hotels, a fun-filled and family-oriented entertainment center created in partnership with Universal Studios, and an outdoor park that includes art galleries and golf courses that is expected to be 30 percent bigger than London's Hyde Park.
The development plans for the new city are largely divided into four themes: family tourism, retail, art galleries and an integrated environment for entrepreneurship and innovation in the region.
The family attraction will be the biggest of its kind in the Middle East and African region.
In the past two months Dubai has announced several new projects, including a 60,000-seat horse-racing stadium and hotel complex in Dubai and a replica of India’s Taj Mahal, four times the size of the original.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.