Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi is getting ready for some water splashing next week as Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi opens its doors. Developed by Aldar Properties and operated by Farah Leisure Management, also the operators of Ferrari World, the water park is scheduled to open on January 24 to the public offering some of the fastest and longest waterslides in the world.
Yas Waterworld, which sits on 15 hectares at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, is a Dh900 million investment that is expected to make its return on investment under 15 years, its General Manager Mike Oswald told reporters on Wednesday. “We have multiple expansion plans that will obviously be paid back as well during that time,” he said.
There are plans to start developing phase two of the project, over an area of two hectares next year, he said.
Following two years of construction, today Yas Waterworld has 43 different slides, rides and attractions, and can take in as many as 6,000 visitors at a time. “This means in a day we can take in anywhere between 8,000 and 10,000,” he said.
While the waterpark is expecting to welcome around 4,000 guests on the opening day, the park will get busier as the summer approaches, Oswald said. “It’s still winter, so we expect to start at a reasonable pace, but by the time it’s summer and kids get out of school we expect a massive amount of people to come to the park,” he said.
Water consumption
Oswald told reporters that a lot of money has been invested in sustainable technologies in order to allow the waterpark, which has a 9,000 cubic metres water capacity, to use about 30 per cent less water than a water park this size would typically use. The park will use 356,000 litres per day for the pools, rides and slides.
“We have the most advanced filtration system in the world that uses over 90 per cent less water compared to a normal filtration system, so we’ve done everything possible to minimise the amount of water used in the park,” he said.
Safety concerns
When asked about safety, Oswald said that the rides have gone through several testing with thousands of test riders put on the rides before it’s open to the public. “We’ve had industry experts come out and take a look at the rides to make sure they’re safe. We’re very confident the rides are in great working condition,” he said.
Oswald said that in case of an accident, all 130 lifeguards on staff have been trained to spot an incident within 10 seconds and be able to get to the person in need of help within 20 seconds.
