An earthquake was felt by Dubai residents on Monday at 11:21 AM. Tremors were reportedly felt in offices across Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City.
Residents took to Twitter to note that the tremors coincided with the demolition of the Dubai Pearl site just outside of Media City, suggesting that this was the cause of the earthquake-like shaking.
The demolition of the Dubai Pearl had begun in November, first hand witnesses earlier told Arabian Business, with deconstruction equipment spotted at the site.
The project, first announced in 2002, included a 73-storey building, but has been put on indefinite hold since 2009, due to lack of investors in the residential skyscraper.
Investors also previously found out that the project was under a “notice of cancellation” by the Dubai government, but has yet to be officially cancelled, and that the developer is looking to find a new investor.
However, the site could potentially see redevelopment, with the Pearl project returning in a different form, or another development altogether.
The Dubai Pearl $6 billion mega-project, which overlooks the Palm Jumeirah, is also currently the potential location for the Dubai Moon, as proposed by Moon World Resorts Inc.
When constructed, Moon Dubai is expected to add to the emirate’s economy in sectors such as hospitality, entertainment, attractions, education, technology, the environment and space tourism, Henderson said.
“Moon Dubai will be the largest and most successful modern-day tourism project within the entire MENA region, doubling annual tourism visitations to Dubai based on its global appeal, brand awareness and unique multiple integrated offerings,” Moon World Resorts’ Mathews and Henderson said, adding it can “can comfortably accommodate 10 million annual visitors.”
The resort’s lunar surface, surrounded by a “lunar colony,” is expected to enable 2.5 million guests, annually, to experience affordable space tourism on the ground in Dubai.
“Moon Dubai will significantly impact every aspect of the emirate’s economy including tourism, transportation, commercial and residential real estate, infrastructure, financial services, aviation and space, energy, MICE, agriculture, technology and of course education,” Henderson said, adding this would “firmly plant the UAE flag into the forefront of space exploration,” thus, driving millions of global space enthusiasts to seek out all Dubai has to offer.
The resort’s focus is on leading-edge architecture, engineering, design and technology. Moon will also accommodate a training platform for various space agencies and their respective astronauts.
Moon Dubai is also planning to incorporate boutique ‘Sky Villas’, which will be known as the private residence at moon, with the luxury units housed internally within the main superstructure disc buildings.
“Approximately 300 units will be available for purchase, with sky villa owners being members of a exclusive private members club at Moon,” Henderson said.
Guests visiting the Moon, could take advantage of a spa and wellness section, a nightclub, event centre, global meeting place, lounge and an in-house “moon shuttle,” of which details are yet to be revealed.
“Currently, MWR is planning a 2023 global road-show series showcasing Moon to potential regional licensees. One such show will take place in the MENA region, potentially Dubai, UAE, with other options including KSA, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait,” Henderson said.
He added: “Once the single MENA regional licence has been consummated and the precise location has been chosen, a one year pre-development program will be initiated followed by a four year build out program.”
Moon Dubai is proposed to operate under gold LEED certification, a 5-star built out standard and 5-diamond resort operational standard.
MWR is expected to licence four Moon destination resorts around the globe (known as regional licences), one in each of the following regions of North America, Europe, MENA and Asia.
The UAE is currently exploring opportunities surrounding celestial bodies, develop satellite communications technology and deploy the latest space technologies in terrestrial applications.
Recently, the country earmarked $820 million to its fund ambitious space plans, with initial plans to build satellites.
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