Saudi Arabia unveils plans for 1,300ft cube shopping mall and entertainment venue
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Saudi Arabia has announced plans to build a colossal 400 cubic meter mall in its capital.
The developers plan to build the New Murabba project at the heart of a seven-mile (19 km) area in northwest Riyadh, welcoming hundreds of thousands of residents to facilities that include 80 entertainment and cultural venues, 9,000 guest rooms hotel and 3.2 million square feet. (980,000 m2) of commercial space.
Its designers claim that the world’s largest city center will “offer a unique work and life entertainment experience within a 15-minute walk radius and have its own internal transportation system,” with visitors in awe of the latest in immersive holographic technology.
This comes as Saudi Arabia seeks to diversify its economy and add sustainable projects and cities to its list, which is currently dependent on oil for 80% of their export earnings.
Renderings show futuristic buildings surrounded by new plants and vegetation near the capital.
The project is expected to make full use of holographic imagery and sci-fi décor to provide buyers and residents with a unique experience as part of Saudi Vision 2030 to attract tourists.
Buildings done in the modern Najdi architectural style would not be out of place in Star Wars.
The iconic Mukaab shopping mall at its core is planned to reinvent the region (above) with green areas and paths for walking and cycling, ‘promoting healthy and active lifestyles and community activities’.
Standing 1,300 feet tall, its designers claim it could hold 20 Empire State Buildings (1,250 feet to roof; 1,454 feet to tip) inside.
Promotional videos feature immersive virtual reality renderings, with dragons and huge holographic people moving through the development.
Surrounded by a cube structure, the inner spiral is seen to have the ability to display realistic images around the building.
Renderings show spaceships flying overhead, towering mountain ranges, and towering waterfalls, all projected onto the sleepy desert scene.
TO promotional video claims that everything within the city will be accessible within a 15-minute walk, as other major cities turn their attention to the controversial ‘15 minute city‘ concept.
Critics in Europe have warned that such cities would not be car-friendly, making it difficult for emergency services to move around the city.
But the Saudi project, a 20-minute drive from the nearest airport, also plans to accommodate drivers where needed.
Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, who is also prime minister and NMDC chairman, announced the project on Thursday, which a statement said would contribute to the city’s plans to develop a variety of economic sectors by 2030.
It is estimated that it would add SAR 180 billion (£39.9 billion) to non-oil GDP.
A holographic dragon is seen flying around representations of mountains next to the internal structure.
Huge streets welcome tourists and domestic guests to shop, work and live.
All-purpose entertainment venues are envisioned in the bid to attract new types of visitors.
Drawings show what the sustainable project could look like after its completion date in 2030
The megaproject promises that everything will continue to be within a 15-minute walk for visitors
Futuristic floating ships are imagined around the main spiral as part of the holographic decoration.
Saudi Arabia, with one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, is planning a series of so-called megaprojects aimed at reinventing its economy.
The planned smart city of Neom in northwest Saudi Arabia was announced by the Crown Prince in October 2017, also as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 to reduce oil dependency, diversify the economy, and develop utility sectors.
The ambitious project would run exclusively on wind and solar power and is estimated to cost $500 billion.
Critics have pointed out that only two buildings had been built by July 2022, ahead of the planned completion date for the first phase of 2025.
In January 2021, plans were unveiled for a linear city 110 miles (170 km) long and 660 feet (200 meters) wide, ‘La Línea’, running through the region.
All basic services are expected to be within a five minute walking distance for nine million residents.
The project has drawn criticism for its data collection surveillance technology and for sentencing people to death evicted and forcibly displaced to start the project.
Amnesty International noted that Saudi Vision 2030 was made possible by a large-scale demolition and eviction plan that affected half a million people in Jeddah alone, violated international human rights standards, and discriminated against foreign citizens.
Saudi Arabia is also investing in AMAALA, an upcoming sustainable mega-project of 2,500 hotel rooms and 200 retail stores, with the aim of attracting tourists to the Red Sea coast.
Several cultural sites will also receive investment, as the country seeks to attract international tourists as part of its diversification move.
The Saudi Vision 2030 includes attracting 27 million domestic and foreign tourists.
The image shows the illusion of dining underwater in the middle of the Saudi desert using holographic technology
The image shows what the holograms would look like, looming over shoppers and residents.
Daytime renderings show how green the revived area is planned to become
The central building at the heart of the project is divided into five key attraction complexes.
From a distance, the drawings show the large scale of the building near the Riyadh airport.
The image shows an artist’s rendering of the proposed cube, which would give locals access to entertainment, residential and office spaces in the northwest of the capital city of Riyadh.
A spiral tower would be located within the Mukaab cube on the outskirts of the capital city.
Rendering shows shopping mall and entertainment complex near Riyadh city
Artist renderings show the center between King Khalid Road and King Salman Road (named after a former and current King of Saudi Arabia, respectively) in Riyadh transformed into a sprawling metropolitan paradise.
The intersection on the outskirts of the city is currently surrounded by thousands of residential units, hemmed in by Diriah Hills to the west.
The hills are an attraction for tourists and hikers and are located near the Al-Alb Dam, one of the quietest agricultural and urban areas in Saudi Arabia. according to its developers.
The New Murabba project is expected to be completed by 2030.