Dubai plans to build the world’s largest indoor ski resort, with a 1.2 kilometre run.
The emirate’s current indoor ski resort, opened in 2005 in the Mall of the Emirates, remains the largest in the world, with a 400m slope.
The new covered ski resort comes as part of a £4.4 billion scheme dubbed Meydan One, the AF news agency reported.
Other features include the world’s tallest residential tower at 2,333ft, a dancing fountain sweeping up to 1,378ft, a vast shopping centre, a 350-room hotel and a marina, according to a government statement.
The project is to extend from the Meydan race track in the emirate’s desert to Burj Khalifa, the world’s highest tower, reported Dubai daily Al-Bayan.
“In a city which never stops innovating, today’s announcement is significant for the future of Dubai and the UAE,” Meydan chairman Saeed al-Tayer was quoted as saying in UAE-based newspaper The National.
The first phase of the project, eventually to house up to 78,000 residents, should be completed in the next five years, in time for the UAE hosting of World Expo 2020.
Dubai attracted 13.2 million visitors last year and aims for 20 million tourists by 2020.