Global Village, the most popular attraction of the Dubai Shopping Festival, will construct permanent airconditioned structures to house pavilions and restaurants, said a top official.

Part of the structures will be of concrete, and certain sections will be made of pre-fabricated materials.

The event will run for five months next year from January to May before becoming an year-round attraction, said Ebrahim Abdul Rahim, director of the Global Village.

Developer Dubailand is currently finalising its masterplan, which includes warehousing facilities, furnished residences, retail outlets, kiosks and hotels to cater to a greater audience and tourists throughout the year.

"All the national pavilions will be constructed by us, which will be rented by the organisers of national pavilions. The pre-fabricated structures will be fully air-conditioned so that people can visit the stalls during summer," he told Gulf News.

In order to enhance its customer service, Global Village management will offer visas and other assistance to the organisers and participants.

Dubailand will invest a large sum on the project, which will be recovered in five to six years. The financial details are still being worked out.

"We are putting a lot of focus on the landscaping. The walkways will be of tiles and the pavilion blocks will be separated by fountains and lakes to maximise attraction.

"The structures will be made in such a way that they will offer flexibility to the organisers in terms of size. They only have to create the facade and the right ambience to match the respective countries' heritage and culture.

"We want the organisers to focus on quality and help the participants," the official added.

The rent of the pavilions will be higher than at present. "It will depend on the number of stalls one organiser rents from us," he said.

This year, the Global Village is hosting 46 national pavilions. A good number of the countries were, however, badly represented, due to poor management by respective organisers.

Abdul Rahim said next year his office will be careful in selecting the organisers.

"We are going to reintroduce a bank guarantee by the organisers to put more pressure on their performance."