The Dubai government is to double its investment in Bawadi, a resort that will now consist of 51 hotels, to $54.45bn (AED 200bn) as part of its plan to attract 15 million tourists to the emirate each year.
The resort, which is to be the home of the world’s largest hotel and be connected to the planet’s biggest shopping centre, will house three million tourists by 2016, or one-fifth of Dubai’s tourist target, in 60,000 rooms.
The announcement by the Dubai government confirmed earlier stories in the emirate’s Arabic press that there would be an increase in the project’s budget. Al Bayan had reported last month the total value of planned investment in the entertainment complex had risen to $44.95bn, from an initial expectation of $17.7bn.
Executive Chairman of Dubai Holding Mohammed Al Gergawi said: “The Bawadi expansion is in line with Dubai’s strategic plan 2015, with the tourism sector set to contribute 11% in annual growth to achieve a GDP of $108 billion by 2015. Saeed Al Muntfiq, Executive Chairman of Tatweer, the Dubai Holding’s company charged with the project, added that Bawadi would help with Dubai’s ambition to diversify its economy.
Rooms at the Bawadi, which means ‘desert’ in Arabic, are to be modelled on ancient Egyptian palaces, Hollywood, London’s Houses of Parliament, and even the moon. Hotels include the Ottoman Palace Hotel and Resort, which will replicate the 16th and 17th centuries, the $218m Al Maghreb Resort and Spa based on Moroccan architecture, and the $504m America Hotel and Resort, that will showcase New York Broadway shows as a permanent attraction.
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