The second phase of the tallest hotel scheme in the world is to start in Dubai. The Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid ordered the start of the second phase of Emirates Group's twin tower JW Marriott Marquis Dubai hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road after being shown around the first phase, an 804 room tower, which opened to the public earlier this month. The hotel, which is scheduled to be completed in late 2014 or early 2015, will eventually have 1,600 rooms, making it Dubai's biggest hotel by room number. And at 355 meters tall, the structures will be only 26 meters shorter than the Empire State Building in New York. The hotel also boasts the largest function room in the Middle East and 19 restaurants.

Dubai developer Emaar Properties and investment firm Dubai Holding on October 27 unveiled plans for a multi-million project known as "Dubai Creek Harbour at The Lagoons", which will contain the world's tallest twin towers with height more than 600 meters (1,968ft) each. Located within the two partners' joint master development, Mohammed bin Rashid City (MBR City), the project will be officially launched on November 1 in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, London and Moscow and will be the first residences located in Dubai Creek Harbour, offering views over the harbour and Dubai skyline. "Dubai Creek Harbour at The Lagoons" will be developed on an open site and is expected to be larger than Downtown Dubai in terms of magnitude. Dubai Creek Residences will include six towers - two of which will be 40-storeys in height - with a variety of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments that will have unit area ranging between 75 - 200 square meters. The master plan will contain a dedicated retail precinct, pedestrian walkways and The Dubai Twin Towers, an iconic mixed-use development billed to be the tallest twin towers in the world. At present, the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at 452 meters and 88 floors hold the record for the tallest twin towers in the world. Dubai is already home to the world's tallest tower Burj Khalifa (828 meters), the world's highest residential tower Princess Tower (414 meters), the world's highest hotel building JW Marriott Marquis (355 meters) and the world's highest twisted tower "Infinity Tower" (307 meters).

Dubai is already home to the biggest shopping mall in the world, but that apparently isn't enough. Dubai has just unveiled plans for the world's largest temperature-controlled pedestrian city, the Mall of the World. To be completed in time for the World Expo 2020, the 4.5 million square meters mega development will include the world's largest shopping mall, the world's largest indoor theme park, and a 280 thousand square meters wellness center catering to medical tourists. It will be located right across the street from the 223 thousand square meters Mall of the Emirates. Dubai Holding will need US$ 6.8 billion to build an entertainment district. While the impending Expo 2020 undoubtedly gives a timeline to the project, in unveiling the plans His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum commented: "We announced recently that we plan to transform Dubai into a cultural, tourist and economic hub for the two billion people living in the region around us; and we are determined to achieve our vision." It is estimated that the Mall of the World will be a draw card for 180 million visitors per year. The project will be completed in stages, "in alignment with the gradual growth of family tourism in Dubai." The project's "highlights" include the world's largest mall at 743 thousand square meters, connected to 100 hotels and serviced apartment buildings totaling 20,000 hotel rooms. The shopping mall will be a temperature-controlled, covered retail street network spreading over 7 kilometers and modeled on Rodeo Drive and London's Oxford Street. It will also include The Celebration Walk, which is based on La Rambla in Barcelona. The development also includes the largest indoor family theme park in the world, which will be covered by a glass dome that can be opened in the milder winter months. There will also be a cultural district based on Broadway, with a 15,000-person capacity "celebration center," to be Dubai's largest.