Dubai : Ras Al Khaimah opened the largest water park in the Middle East on Wednesday night.
"I hope this beautiful project would become a popular attraction for people in the country as well as from outside," said Shaikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, at the park's opening.
He said the project was an important milestone in the government's effort to develop the tourism potential of Ras Al Khaimah.
The $100 million (Dh367 million) Ice Land Water Park is spread across 110,000 square metres and is designed to accommodate up to 10,000 visitors.
Infrastructure
Ice Land Water Park has its own 4 megawatt power generation facility, a water desalination plant capable of producing 525,000 gallons a day and water filtration systems.
The park is managed by Polo RAK Amusement, a joint venture between India's Polo Amusement Group, RAK Properties and RAK Investment Authority.
The park opened the first phase of the WOW RAK Theme Park, a multi-part family entertainment destination scheduled for completion in 2012.
Themed as a new home-land for penguins, visitors will encounter an icy, wintry landscape as they make their entry through a man-made mountain guarding the park entrance.
Misty water sprays fills the air from the 100,000 gallons of water splashing down every minute from the 120-metre high Penguin Falls.
Visitors will have the company of 1,500 artificial penguins dotting the polar-themed landscape as they check out various water attractions, including an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a 600 metre long Lazy River that winds its way through caverns and a regular-sized aqua soccer field with soft turf and rain showers.
"Ice Land Water Park will distinguish itself from other water parks around the world through its ‘Enduring Guest Experiences' concept wherein we will offer guest experiences with segmental appeal to tap a wider range of age, lifestyle and culture groups. For instance, we have built the Kids Cove as a dedicated place for toddlers primarily because children and toddlers are often overlooked in facility planning of other water parks. There is certainly something for everybody to enjoy and appreciate and we are sure that families will greatly appreciate such a unique, complete entertainment experience," said Balwant Singh, managing director at Polo RAK Amusement.
Dream to reality
He added that it took around a thousand days and half a million man- days in collaboration with designers, architects, environmentalists and engineers to make the project a reality.
One of the park's main attractions will be the world's largest man-made water fall and rain dance pool. The park will also feature 50 water slides and rides.
"The opening of this new water park will definitely adding to the product of Ras al Khaimah as a tourist destination. It is a new and important element and it may attract more people especially the families," said Gassan Aridi, CEO of Alpha Tours.
