Dubai Plans $2.7bn Theme Park Complex

Dubai plans to build a Dhs10 billion ($2.7 billion) complex of five theme parks, including one focused on India’s Bollywood cinema industry, to expand its booming tourism sector, the Dubai ruler’s office said on Monday.

Local real estate company Meraas Holding has been chosen to develop the project, the first stage of which is expected to be completed by 2014, the office of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said in a statement on its website.

Located near Dubai’s Jebel Ali port area, the complex is to include an adventure park featuring Hollywood brands, a marine park, a children’s park and a night safari.

Meraas has formed partnerships with several major film studios in Mumbai to obtain content for the Bollywood Parks section, which will include a theatre showing Broadway-style musicals, the statement said.

A tourism boom and a nascent recovery in Dubai’s property market has prompted the emirate to announce a string of ambitious projects this year.

On Saturday, Sheikh Mohammed unveiled plans for a tourism and retail development which, he said, would include 100 hotels and the largest shopping mall in the world.