What's next for Dubai? These 5 mega-projects are raising the bar
The Dubai skyline is ever-changing, and it's always a treat to see what the city next has in store for us.
Over the last few decades, Dubai has created some world-famous masterpieces, from the Burj Khalifa to Palm Jumeirah.
But the best is yet to come – there are some mega projects in the pipeline that you definitely need to know about.
Some are still in the planning stages, with others taking a little longer than expected, or changing into something even better.
So without further ado, here are Dubai's uncompleted projects that we're seriously excited to see completed.
Al Maktoum International Airport
Plans for Al Maktoum International Airport (Credit: Dubai Media Office)
First opening in 2010, there are plans to make Al Maktoum International Airport the busiest in the world.
Beginning with cargo flights only, the first phase of the airport started humbly, but recently, the government has confirmed the long-term goals on this major project.
In addition to expanding the airport, an entire new city will be constructed around the site in Dubai South, and the building itself will have a capacity of 260 million passengers.
The interior of the planned new look for Al Maktoum International Airport (Credit: Dubai Media Office)
Five times the size of DXB, the Government of Dubai have stated that within 10 years, all Dubai International Airport operations will have moved to Al Maktoum, so it's not too far away.
Although, that 2030's deadline will not be the completion of the entire project, as the surrounding areas and other features could take until 2050 to finish.
You can find everything you need to know in our guide to Al Maktoum International Airport here.
Dubai World Islands
Dubai World Islands
The Dubai World Islands is a pretty cool design. Who wouldn't want to take a trip to Europe that only takes 20 minutes from Dubai?
Designed to look like a map of the world, the project first began in 2003, but work paused around 2008.
Dormant for some time, the islands saw a surge of life in 2014 when the Kleindienst Group launched the Heart of Europe development. The Anantara World Islands resort then opened in December 2021, making it the first resort to do so on the project.
The Raining Street can be found in the Heart of Europe (Credit: Supplied)
Although not all the islands have been built on, you can already visit the Raining Street in the voco Monaco Dubai Hotel, and more projects are popping up fast, from the Maldives-inspired Honeymoon Island and the Marbella Resort Hotel.
All oozing in luxury, the destination is set to make for a fabulous stay-cay over the coming years.
Jebel Ali Palm
How Palm Jebel Ali should look once completed (Credit: Dubai Media Office)
For 15 years work had been left uncompleted on the Jebel Ali Palm, with the foundations laid but no construction occurring after a pause in 2008.
However, in 2023 it was announced that the palm project was back with a bang, and work has now resumed on making it twice as big as Palm Jumeirah.
Backed by developer Nakheel, the island will span over 13.4km of land, with over 80 hotels and resorts, beach clubs and even a 'celebration village'.
Futuristic buildings of the Gateway Bridge on Palm Jebel Ali plans
If you're looking to make home on the new island, you'll be pleased to know there will be plenty of residential buildings and properties too, where you can stroll out and over to the lifestyle mall or yacht club.
At present there is no final completion date, however, the first visit to Palm Jebel Ali is now closer than ever before, so let's be patient.
The Island
The Island (Credit: Mirageglobal.com)
The Island was first announced in 2017, and is still yet to be completed, after originally being rumoured as a home for the first UAE casino.
In 2023 it was confirmed that Ras Al Khaimah would instead be home to the UAE's first casino, but the Dubai Vegas-style island will still go ahead without the gaming.
Now under construction, the island is being built out into the sea next to Jumeirah, and will boast three iconic hotels, the MGM, Bellagio and Aria.
As well as views of the Burj Al Arab and an extended beachfront, guests and visitors will be able to enjoy cafes, restaurants, lagoons and even a huge in-house entertainment venue.
A final completion date is still to be announced, but we'll be the first to let you know when it is.
Six Senses Dubai Marina
Credit: Select Group
Announced in 2024 as the latest addition to Dubai Marina, the tower will be the world's tallest residential building upon completion.
The first part of the skeleton structure has already been constructed, and design images of the project have shown the new building standing well above the likes of Marina 101 (425m) and Princess Tower (414m).
Expected to have 122 floors and a series of 251 luxury apartments, the building will have a wellness theme, with a crystal sound healing room and a huge 25m lap pool.
Credit: Select Group
If you're lucky enough to call this place home, residents will benefit from amenities such as its Sleep With Six Senses bedrooms filled with everything wellness, including bespoke features like a wellness wardrobe (yes please) stocked with home fitness equipment and mood-enhancing sensory art.
If you like reading this: Why you need to know about these skyscrapers coming soon to Dubai
It will be a few years until the tower opens, with construction expected to finish in 2028.
In other Dubai news
10 major road and RTA projects that will slash Dubai traffic
There might one day be a reason to stop beeping your horn
Drive in Dubai? What you need to know about Salik (and how it could cost you)
The toll gate rules have just been updated
All the music festivals coming up in the UAE
The big parties to keep your eye on
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
From ace architecture to top tapas, the Spanish city that is mini-break heaven
Scroll down to find out the cost of cheap flights from the UK BONITA From ace architecture to top tapas, the Spanish city that is mini-break heaven LOUNGING on a double sunbed by the rooftop infinity pool as the sun sets, it's amor at first sight at Barcelona's Grand Hotel Central. With views stretching from the Mediterranean to the hilltop of Montjuïc, this is sundowner heaven, with a cocktail list to match. 6 Barcelona's Park Guell is a swell spot to chill out in 6 Be a beach babe and catch some rays Credit: Getty Images 6 The infinity pool and beyond at the Grand Hotel Central Credit: Supplied As I sip a Solera's Delight – a mix of rum, vanilla syrup and chocolate bitters that tastes like golden hour in a glass, £14.50 – while Balearic beats play, I can't think of a cooler spot to celebrate my first wedding anniversary with husband Nick. Go gaudi You'll find The Grand Hotel Central in the bustling Old Town – not that you'd know it once you cross the imposing 1920s facade. With a marble lobby and wood-panelled library, plus a spa, sunrise yoga and staff who can't do enough to help, this is a chic oasis of calm. Our superior room is equally stylish, with a rainfall shower and a bed so comfy we wish we could bring it home. Dinner at the hotel's Restaurant Can Bo offers a fusion of Spanish tapas with an Italian twist served in a lively, Mediterranean-inspired space. Top marks for the octopus brioche, £6.80, tagliatelle with oxtail ragu, £14.50, white asparagus in carbonara sauce, £11, and the decadent chocolate three ways, £7.65. As tempting as it is to chill at the hotel, Nick and I venture out to explore. The hop-on, hop-off bus takes you everywhere from Barceloneta beach to Catalan architect Gaudi's awe-inspiring Sagrada Familia basilica. Day tickets cost £25.25 per person ( Gaudi's magical Park Guell is a must-see. With jaw-dropping buildings, sculptures and mosaics, this architectural wonder leaves us speechless. Entry costs £15.30 per person ( Martin Lewis gives travel advice about checking your passport Take a ramblas The following day, fortified by a top-notch buffet breakfast, we mooch around the Gothic Quarter and El Born – two districts that form a labyrinth of cobbled streets, lined with bars, shops, restaurants and galleries. Nick picks up a shirt in Humana Vintage, while I can't resist a ceramic plate from Artesanat, plus a huge pistachio cinnamon roll from bakery Demasie, £3.50 (@Cookies_demasie). Food market Mercat de Santa Caterina delivers another gastronomical marvel in the form of cheese and Iberian ham cones, £4.25, which have lived rent-free in my head ever since. Fearing gout is imminent, we take a stroll around Parc de la Ciutadella, with its golden Cascada Monumental waterfall and lake, then hit the Picasso Museum. 6 Sleep in style in a Grand Suite at the Grand Hotel Central Credit: Supplied 6 Take your pick of Picasso pics at the Picasso Museum With an extensive collection of the artist's early work, it's well worth the visit. Entry costs £14.50 per person ( No Barcelona trip is complete without seeing the boulevard of Las Ramblas, thronged with tourists, locals, flower sellers and street performers. To rest our legs, we grab daiquiris, £11.50, in Boadas, Barcelona's oldest cocktail bar, beloved by everyone from Hemingway to Dalí. The tiny room with art-deco furnishings and tuxedo-wearing bartenders, is like stepping back in time. With time for one final indulgence, we hit restaurant Sagardi Argenteria for Barceloneta Bombas – a local speciality of meatballs encased in potato and breadcrumbs, then deep-fried and served with spicy brava sauce, £2.20 a pop – and swear to return for our second anniversary. Gout permitting. FYI Double rooms cost from £250 a night ( UK return flights to Barcelona with Vueling cost from £56 (
Fashion United
2 days ago
- Fashion United
Casablanca anchors itself in Paris with first flagship on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
Casablanca, the luxury brand founded by Charaf Tajer, has opened its inaugural flagship store in Paris, choosing the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré as its entry into physical retail. The opening signals more than a retail expansion and underscores the brand's ambition to solidify its cultural and commercial footprint in one of the world's most historically significant fashion capitals. The location, on a corner plot within Paris's prestigious 8th arrondissement on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, is a high-value corridor for global luxury, home to maisons such as Hermès and Chanel, and long associated with international cachet. For emerging houses like Casablanca, the street offers not just visibility but a validation within the fashion hierarchy. A high-value corridor for global luxury Paris is, of course, a critical base for fashion brands, not only as a global destination for tourism and luxury shopping, but also as the centre of haute couture, institutional credibility, and artistic heritage. Real estate along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré carries both financial and narrative weight; obtaining a retail foothold here is rare, especially for young labels. For Tajer, a Paris native raised in the multicultural Belleville neighbourhood, the store is also personal. 'Five or six years ago, I said, 'I want a corner on that street,' and everyone said it was impossible,' he recounts. 'Opening this store is like coming home—but more than that, it's about bringing something new to Paris, something progressive.' The three-level boutique, designed with Steve Grimes (Casablanca's brand art director), London-based Counterfeit Studio, and Morocco's Elements Lab, reflects the brand's recurring themes of sport, cinema, and cultural duality. Its design references range from the classical—arched niches, Haussmannian limestone, and Carrara marble mosaics—to the cinematic and speculative, such as a Kubrick-inspired lightbox ceiling and a sculptural tennis court that binds the store's two upper floors. Casablanca boutique, Paris Credits: Benoit Florençon The aesthetic interplay of old and new, luxury and sport, Paris and Casablanca, is deliberate. The lower level is wrapped in plush green carpet that climbs walls and curves across transparent display cases, designed as both retail fixtures and collectible art. On the ground floor, a palette of rich red, green, and blue interrupts the neutral architecture, offering a visual articulation of the brand's DNA: bold yet refined, heritage-conscious yet forward-looking. The flagship follows seven years of steady brand growth, largely defined by Casablanca's distinctive blend of Mediterranean leisurewear, graphic storytelling, and aspirational positioning. With its retail debut, the brand transitions from being digitally native and stockist-driven to establishing a direct-to-consumer, immersive environment. 'I'm not a dreamer—I'm a man of projects,' Tajer says. 'This isn't just a store. It's proof of what's possible.' A second flagship is due to open in Beverly Hills later this summer.
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Laura Anderson cruelly holiday-shamed by trolls as she shows off luxury trip with boyfriend
LAURA Anderson has been cruelly holiday-shamed by trolls after showing off her luxury trip with boyfriend Clark Robertson. The former Love Island, 36, has kept fans up-to-date on her holiday to the Maldives with footballer Clark, 31. 3 3 3 Laura, who shares 21-month-old daughter Bonnie with ex Gary Lucy, shared a series of highligh snaps from the getaway - telling followers it was gifted to her. And some were quick to hit out at the TV star for being given the freebie. One wrote: "I don't understand society! "I mean, I get it I get why companies give free holidays like this to promote, but imagine if they allowed people who wouldn't normally experience these types of things and let them promote on social media. "Like underpaid nurses, doctors paramedics firemen and women the people that put out so much into society." But some pointed out that it's Laura's job as an influencer to promote companies. One said: "It's called a PR stay. It's her job, she has over 1.5 million followers she is able to promote this to. It's how she earns a living." Laura and Clark - who plays for Dundee - went public with their relationship in October last year. And she later revealed the surprise way they got together. Laura told The Sun: "It's not very romantic, he messaged me online and I saw it about three years later and replied and here we are. "I didn't make it public for a little bit, but we've been together for a little bit. "It's nice, it's chilled, no drama, just simple. A good Scottish boy, I can't complain."
