One question that continues to be asked by people around the world is just how big a project can be before it’s absolutely laughable to call it green. The latest mega-project from Dubai stretches the bounds of eco-believability. It’s a $54.4 billion environmentally friendly real estate project stretching over 20,000 acres.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Gardens has four main clusters themed around wisdom, humanity, nature and commerce. The plan is to have 73% of the total area covered in greenery. Yes, in Dubai, a country that is pretty much a desert. The design as shown in the model above calls for plenty of large lakes and canals.

The House of Nature will have parks, flower gardens, recreational clubs, a zoo, hotels, environmental labs and alternative medicine and herbal healing clinics; the House of Wisdom will be home to a library, international universities, history and science colleges and a mosque; the House of Humanity will include the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment, the Museum of Light, the Human Civilization Museum and other room for other charities such as Unicef; and the House of Commerce will include banks, financial services firms and insurance companies and colleges that will specialize in banking and finance.

Internet rumors have pegged the location of the project, which will be overseen by Dubai Holdings, to be between Al Khail Road and Emirates Road in an area that borders Downtown Burj Dubai to the north and Dubailand to the south. This hasn’t been confirmed and no date has been given for the start of construction.

When you read of a $54 billion project, the first thing that comes to mind are things the size of the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal, or the massive Three Gorges Dam in China.

As it turns out, it isn’t. It’s in Dubai, or is supposed to be. A massive eco-project in Dubai may be coming to fruition. A report out of Arabian Business is talking about an 82-square kilometer project that would border Downtown Burj Dubai to the north and Dubailand to the south. The project is called Mohammed bin Rashid Gardens, and is being developed by Dubai Properties, part of the state-owned conglomerate Dubai Holding.

Having just had family that returned from Dubai just last week, I thought they were nuts when they talked about a massive oasis that was miles after miles of green commercial, residential, tourist, and care centers being built on top of what is already being built in Dubai today.

While dates have not been given, I’d strongly encourage you to read about it and look at the flash demo of some of the plans to see the scope of this project. As if the building of Dubai into a super-city wasn’t enough, and as if creating “The World” housing projects wasn’t enough, this project seems like it would be larger than massive.

Whoever gets that water desalination pact to supply all the water for these kilometers after kilometers of green land in an otherwise extremely hot and arid desert is going to clean house.

If things continue at the pace they have, every millionaire and every billionaire in the world is going to have to have one office and two homes in the region to fill all of these new and planned structures up.

DUBAI — By the end of this year the Dubai Properties Group will invite local and foreign companies to become its strategic partners for the Dh200-billion Mohammed Bin Rashid Gardens, a mixed-use project between Al Khail and Emirates Roads.

These partners would have a total investment of up to 40 per cent of the whole budget, which could “scale up” as the development will take 5-7 years to complete, according to Hashim Al Dabal, the group’s chairman.

He said the group, which started out as Dubai Properties, would carry out all the project’s components and would not award some contracts to other companies. The group is part of the Dubai government-owned investment company, Dubai Holding.

With 73 per cent of its 880-million-sq-ft area to be dedicated to gardens, parks and open spaces for people to move around, the project’s “green concept” is the “first of its kind” in Dubai, Al Dabal said.

“The whole project will complement everything there is in Dubai,” he added. “This will be an added value to living in Dubai.” He stressed the need for the city’s ultra-urban but walkable and environment-friendly community.

Only 10 per cent of the total area will contain residential, commercial and office buildings, complying with the vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to having a community development focusing on nature and people.

Shaikh Mohammed launched the project, which has six phases and will incorporate centres of commerce (for business offices), wisdom (schools), nature (gardens and parks) and humanity (arts and culture).

“The idea of the project was embodied in Shaikh Mohammed’s decision to establish buildings that are environment friendly, restrict the usage of power and protect natural resources from being wasted,” said Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Holding, in a statement.

Al Dabal said the first two phases, which involve horizontal structures such as the water and sewerage system and roads, will start immediately after final negotiations with various government agencies and be done in 2-3 years. The four other phases will have a specific plan by the end of this year and it covers the development of the community itself.

The project also involves the development of 42 km of water canal, universities, a museum, a festival hall and The Mohammed Bin Rashid Foundation, among other structures. The canal brings to life the main concept of the project – which is to bring life to the desert.

Some 200,000 residents and 300,000 workers and visitors are expected to be in the community daily upon its completion, prompting Dubai Properties to incorporate mass transport and grey water systems into the project.

Vice President, Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has launched AED200 billion Mohammed Bin Rashid Garden City project initiative to preserve environment and stretch landscape.

Mohammed Bin Rashid Gardens

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Gardens represent the most innovative approach to urban form to be found anywhere in the Middle East. Celebrating the intricate geometry of Arabian art and science its 56 million square feet of verdant parks and gardens divide an 880 million square foot city into a network of sustainable neighbourhoods, each containing the molecule of daily life.

The project will include four houses:
Bait Al Hikma, will include translation unit, central library, knowledge garden and offices for international organisations, universities and mosque.

The second house, will be humanitarian house, which will include the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian Establishment, UNICEF, light museum, humanitarian civilisation museum and charity offices.

The third house, is allocated for nature. It will include extensive integrated family parks, specialised environment laboratories, colleges specialised in environment, hotels and entertainment clubs, as well as gardens for flowers and alternative medicine clinics.

The fourth house, is allocated for commerce. It will include towers and centres for trade mark agents, higher banking and financial institutions, insurance companies, major world companies, Islamic and international banks.

Al Gergawi said the coming up project “reflects vision of Sheikh Mohammed on clean environment free from pollution to safeguard health of coming generations”, adding that it is also in line with previous resolution of constructing green buildings friendly to environment.

Hashim Al Dabal, executive chairman of Dubai Properties, said the company will commence work upon instructions and blessing from Sheikh Mohammed and in coordination with competent corporations to prepare infrastructure for the project, which is set to be a conspicuous landmark in the UAE.

The Mohamed bin Rashid Gardens, an ambitious Dhs 200bn parks project launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has received wide acclaimed across the UAE on account of the balance it promises to strike between ecological integrity and real estate necessity.

Dr Abdullah Al Amiri, Chairman of the Emirates Energy Awards.

The launch of this mega project directly follows the signing off of the finalization of the first phase of implementation of the Dubai Green Buildings mandate, which is expected to cut water consumption in Dubai by 40%.

Commenting on the Gardens Project, Dr Abdullah Al Amiri, Chairman of the Emirates Energy Awards, organized by the Dubai Quality Group, said, “The UAE has alway blazed a bright trail in maintaining ecological integrity, in keeping with the directives of HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.”

“Such initiatives conform to the global tendency towards preserving the environment, developing alternative energy resources and forestalling the eruption of wars, famines, droughts and other natural disasters that may result from the current climate change.”

“The Emirates Energy Awards, organized by Dubai Quality Group, plays an eminent role in enhancing ecological awareness among the people of the UAE. We are still receiving applications for the UAE Student Drawing Competition on Energy Efficiency, which was launched in cooperation with the UAE’s Ministry of Education.”

“The Gardens Projects serves to provide us with more stimuli to forge ahead with our national project, tailored to provide a balance between urban necessity and environmental integrity.”

He said that the winners of the drawing competition will be honoured at a ceremony to be organized in November 2008 under the auspices of HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

According to well-informed sources, the first steps of the Mohamed bin Rashid Gardens Project will hopefully be finalized within 6 months
The project focusses on increasing green areas, which will reach 73% of the total project area of 880 million ft², with a total cost of Dhs200bn.

It will consist of four houses. The first, the “House of Wisdom”, will include translation houses, a central library, knowledge gardens, international organizations’ quarters, international universities, history and science colleges, a mosque and Sheikh Mohammad’s masjid.
The second is the “House of Humanity”, and will include buildings and quarters for the House of Giving for charity, Sheikh Mohammad’s Humanitarian and Charity Establishment, Unicef, the museum of light, the human civilization museum and charity foundations.

The “House of Nature” is one of the project’s main houses, which includes family parks, themed gardens, scientific labs that specialise in environmental issues, institutes, and colleges that specialise in the natural sciences, hotels, recreational clubs, an enormous zoo, flower gardens and alternative medical and herbal clinics.

The project’s fourth and final house, the House of Commerce, will include buildings, towers, trademark agents, higher education institutions in banking and the financial sciences, insurance companies, branches of large international companies and Islamic and international banks.