Tourists and residents living in Dubai may soon witness the rise of a ‘new moon’ – in the form of a new hotel, tourist attraction, and astronaut training facility in one from a proposal to build a mega facility named ‘Moon Dubai’ by a Canadian company named Moon World Resorts Inc.
The so-called “Moon Dubai” project, which is said to reach a height of 735 feet (224 meters), will be finished in around 48 months when the final permission is given to the plans created by the company’s co-founding architects Sandra G. Matthews and Michael R. Henderson, according to reports from Arabian Business.
The structure, which vaguely resembles Buckminster Fuller’s famed Expo 67 Pavilion or one of the upcoming (revised) MSG Spheres, is being marketed as a shot in the arm for Dubai’s hospitality and entertainment industries, and will be surrounded by a “lunar colony” that is expected to receive up to 2.5 million visitors annually. According to the designers, this figure could easily rise to around 10 million. The majority, according to their proposal, will seek the yet-unoffered thrill of “affordable space tourism.”
The project will also include approximately 300 private luxury residential units and will serve as a training ground for astronauts from the country’s newly-funded space agency, though technical details on that aspect of the project are still lacking. Resort amenities such as a nightclub, lounge, spa, and events center are all expected. Visitors will be transported by a built-in “moon shuttle” as well. According to the online business publication, the project will seek LEED Gold certification and will cost more than $5 billion USD to build.
Matthews and Henderson stated that they are prepared to complete up to four similar designs in Asia and the Middle East over the next decade. Henderson also expressed his hope that the Dubai project will “firmly plant the UAE flag at the forefront of space exploration,” before concluding that its completion will “[double] annual tourism visits to Dubai based on its global appeal [and] brand awareness.”
