Artist's depiction of Moon World Resort in Dubai
Dubai could be home to a Moon-themed luxury resort built at an estimated cost of US$ 5 billion before the end of this decade, Arabian Business reported this week. The concept for the resort comes from the Canadian architectural company, Moon World Resorts Inc (MWR).
The city of Dubai is no stranger to ambitious architectural projects. Last month, we reported how plans were being drawn for a suspended city around the iconic Burj Khalifa, currently the tallest building in the world.
The city has showcased its ability to take on architectural challenges by completing the Palm Jumeirah and keeps unveiling tiny projects along the way, such as the world’s largest Ferris Wheel. So, it is not exactly a moonshot when Dubai thinks of building a Moon styled resort as well.
Although the details of the project are still scanty, the ambitious project is expected to have an overall height of 735 feet (224 m). Occupying an area of 10 acres or 435,600 sq feet, the resort promises an authentic “lunar colony”.
We do not quite exactly know what that means as of now but reports suggest that the area will offer standard hospitality services such as hotel rooms, wellness center, nightclub, a meeting place and a “moon shuttle”, which piques curiosity but offers very little to satisfy it.
In addition to offering uxuries of the Earth in a lunar setting, the place is also meant to serve as a hub for space exploration, providing a platform for space agencies to train their astronauts, Arabian Business said in its report.
The destination is expected to attract 2.5 million space enthusiasts every year and will also offer 300 Sky Villas to those interested in private residences inside the superstructure’s disc buildings.
According to the Moon World Resorts’ Facebook Page, each of the luxury units will be 2000 sq feet (186 sq. m) big and will also give its owners privileged access to a lifetime membership to the Moon Owners Club.
The architectural firm, MWR is also the intellectual property licensor for this destination resort. In 2023, the firm has plans for a global roadshow to showcase the concept to regional licensees. As part of the roadshow, the firm will visit, Dubai as well as other countries in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
Once the single regional license is awarded and a precise location chosen, there is a one-year pre-development program following which the construction is expected to be completed within 48 months. The construction will follow the gold LEED certification, with a 5-star built-outstandard and a 5-diamond resort operational standard.
Apart from the MENA region, MWR plans to license three more Moon-themed resorts, one in North America, one in Europe, and one in Asia.
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Ameya Paleja Ameya is a science writer based in Hyderabad, India. A Molecular Biologist at heart, he traded the micropipette to write about science during the pandemic and does not want to go back. He likes to write about genetics, microbes, technology, and public policy.
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