Ski Dubai on track for September opening

Ski Dubai, the emirate's latest landmark and the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East, is on track for a September opening despite some material shortages, said officials in charge of the project.

"When you build something this big, you encounter challenges that you either expected or didn't expect," said Phil Taylor, Ski Dubai's chief executive.

"For example, now there is a shortage of high-quality glass," he added.

However, he said the ski resort was not badly affected as they managed to solve the problem by outsourcing the material from outside Dubai.

"We also ordered the glass six to 12 months ago," Taylor said. He said the problem probably stem-med from a strong demand for glass due to the number of construction projects going on in Dubai.

Taylor said other "challenges" the Ski Dubai is working to overcome includes slow progress on the construction of the outer wall.

There are about 1,300 labourers currently working to build the mammoth 25-storey ski resort in the desert.

Susan Mikloska, Ski Dubai's head of marketing, said the resort will be open for business in September, but not on September 3, the opening date for the adjoining Mall of the Emirates.

She said the resort is scheduled to open on September 28, depending on snow conditions.

"The building will be finished but the opening depends on the amount of snow. If we have enough the day before, we open that day, if not the next day," she told Gulf News.

She added the resort will "definitely" be operational by September 30.

Taylor said the next phase of the project, the laying of the snow, will begin next month.

Ski Dubai will have 6,000 tonnes of real snow, making the snow 50cm deep. The previous key phase in the project, the raising of the final section of the 400-metre ski slope, finished in May.

The 25-storey structure is the third-largest indoor ski resort in the world and the Middle East's first. Construction began two years ago.