Dubai: Majid Al Futtaim, the retail operator, on Wednesday announced its first venture in China as it signed a partnership deal to launch the world’s largest indoor ski and snow park in Shanghai.
Under the deal, Majid Al Futtaim will provide design and development consultancy services for the project, which is led by Singapore’s KOP Limited. The project will also be managed by Majid Al Futtaim’s leisure and entertainment business, and marks the Dubai company’s first venture in a market outside the Middle East and North Africa.
The ski park will have an area of 90,000 square metres, and is expected to be over three times larger than Ski Dubai, the indoor ski park operated by Majid Al Futtaim. The Shanghai park will have three ski slopes, including one of Olympic standards for training, and 25 snow play attractions.
The operator said in a statement the new project will build on its expertise with Ski Dubai, which attracts a million guests annually. In 2017, Majid Al Futtaim launched the first indoor ski resort in Africa with Ski Egypt, and is currently developing Ski Saudi, as well as a snow park in Oman, and another in Abu Dhabi’s Reem Mall.
Ahmad Galal Esmail, chief executive officer at Majid Al Futtaim — Ventures, said the new project speaks “to changing customer and lifestyle preferences.”
“We are confident this represents the beginning of an extensive international footprint when it comes to indoor snow entertainment facilities,” he said.
Majid Al Futtaim’s leisure and entertainment unit currently has 127,000 square metres of operational and upcoming snow entertainment facilities in its portfolio.
