Dubai: Building work on Dubai's new zoo is set to start in as little as two months' time, Dubai Municipality has revealed.
By September 2008, the new Dubailand zoo should be ready to accept the animals currently kept at the cramped zoo in Jumeirah.
Rashad Bukhash, director of the General Projects Department at Dubai Municipality, said the authority had recently selected a consultant to design the project.
Once an official contract is signed - expected to happen in about two weeks' time - detailed drawings will be produced and soon afterwards, building will begin. "We chose the design consultants two or three weeks ago. It was a competition between a few companies working in the field of zoos internationally," he said.
"They will do their final designs and as soon as that happens we will be working on the site. The building work will start in July or August."
Bukhash said the transfer of the animals from the zoo in Jumeirah, once the new zoo was completed, would take as little as a month.
The new zoo is being built on 500 acres of land and will include educational areas as well as special features such as a night zoo. There has also been talk of having a camel safari at the zoo.
