Dubai Mall
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The Dubai Mall is a giant mall scheduled to be built at in Dubai, UAE, by Emaar properties, as part of the 'New Dubai' project. This mall claims to be the largest mall in the world when completed. It will cover a total area of more than 12 million ft² [The Dubai Mall brochure collects three awards at Summit Creative Awards 2005], AME Info, May 24, 2005, retrieved March 12, 2006., with 10 - 15 individual smaller malls built inside it, consisting of 9 million ft² of shopping retail space (comprising of a total of more than 1000 stores). Featured attractions include the world's largest gold souk, the 850,000 ft² Fashion Island; one of the world's largest aquariums; an Olympic-sized ice skating rink; Oasis Fountain Waterfall; WaterFront Atrium; a view of the (soon to be completed) world's tallest building, Burj Dubai. The mall has already won five awards. It won two awards at the Retail Future Project Awards at MAPIC, Cannes, in 2004, for Best Retail Development Scheme (Large), Best Use of Lighting in a Retail Environment.[The Dubai Mall], Emaar, retrieved March 12, 2006 And the Dubai Mall brochure has won three awards at the Summit Creative Awards 2005, in Portland, Oregon; Gold award for Best Art Direction / Graphic Design, Silver award for Best 4-colour B2B Brochure, and Judges Special Recognition award.
The mall is being built by Emaar Properties and was scheduled to be completed in 2006, claiming to be the size of 50 "international-sized soccer pitches". It is now expected to be completed in 2008.
Currently, the largest mall in the world is believed to be the South China Mall in Dongguan, China, spreading over 9.6 million ft² [World's largest shopping malls compared], American Studies at Eastern Connecticut State University, retrieved March 9, 2006
Labor controversy
The labor practices used in the construction of Dubai Mall has caused controversy. Dubai Mall has been built by vast numbers of poorly paid construction workers, mainly from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. For example, skilled carpenters are paid $7.60 per day, and laborers get $4 per day. ["Workers Riot at Site of Dubai Skyscraper"], by Jim Krane (Associated Press writer), breitbart.com, March 22, 2006, retrieved March 25, 2006 Most of these workers are forced to give up their passports upon entering Dubai, making it very difficult to return home.
On March 21st of 2006, tensions boiled over at the construction site as workers upset over low wages and poor working conditions rioted, damaging cars, offices, computers, and construction tools. A Dubai Interior Ministry official said the rioters caused approximately one million U.S. dollars in damage. On March 22nd most workers returned to the construction site but refused to work. The work stoppage also caused workers building a new terminal at Dubai International Airport to strike.
Pictures
References
See also
External links
- [Dubai Mall video]
- [Google Earth overlay for Dubai mall]
- [Burj Dubai Downtown] - The tower and its surroundings
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