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Work begins on Universal Studios theme park in Dubai
2007-04-30
A project was launched in Dubai on Monday to bring some Hollywood magic to the booming Gulf emirate in the form of a Universal Studios theme park. The theme park, owned by the major US film studio of the same name, will form part of a wider Universal development costing over 8 billion dirhams (2.18 billion US dollars) in the Dubailand mega resort, Dubai-based developers Tatweer said in a statement. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum, son of Dubai's ruler, officially inaugurated work on the project in the city-state which wants to position itself as a global tourist destination. Dubai will join Los Angeles, Orlando and Japan in having a Universal Studios theme park. Universal Studios officials said the park will feature attractions based on hit films such as Jurrasic Park and King Kong. Tatweer gave no completion date for the project, but phase one of Dubailand is due to open in early 2008. The mammoth 3-billion-square-foot (279-million-square-metre) Dubailand theme park resort will cost 235 billion dirhams (64 billion US dollars) and is expected to attract 15 million visitors a year, according to its website. Dubai, one of seven emirates making up the UAE, is in the midst of a construction frenzy, with resorts, malls, sport installations and residential complexes sprouting up across it desert sands.
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