New £30bn Dubai city plans revealed

The ruler of Dubai has announced plans for a $60bn (£30bn) mixed-use city in the desert.   The Mohammed Bin Rashid Garden development, near Dubai Creek, will comprise 800m sq ft of residential, commercial, leisure and parkland. It will also include houses of worship, and bring canals inland from the Persian Gulf. The development will be broken up into four areas called “houses”. The areas will be the House of Humanity, with charitable buildings and museums, the House of Commerce, with office towers, the House of Wisdom, including universities, libraries and a mosque, and the House of Nature, with parks, gardens, a zoo and healthcare facilities.     The scheme has been designed by London-based architects CivicArts and Eric Kuhne. Dubai Properties will begin work on the project in the next few months. helen.roxburgh@egi.co.uk