Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Saturday inspected work in progress at Meydan Racecourse in Nad Al Sheba, which is set to host the 15th running of the Dubai World Cup in March.
The race is the world's richest horse race with prize money set to reach $10 million.
Shaikh Mohammad's first stop was at the 1,300 square metre parking facility, which is designed in the shape of a Falcon and can accommodate up to 10,000 cars.
Spread over a total area of 76 million square feet, the Meydan horse city also includes dirt and a turf racetrack.
He listened to the engineers who designed the giant project which will house a maximum of up to 80,000 race-going fans. He was briefed on the details and components of the horse race track which is in the heart of the state-of-the-art horse racing city, which will include luxury hotels and a sky bubble restaurant, entertainment clubs, a concourse plaza, iconic towers and a boat-house.
Shaikh Mohammad then stopped at the five-star hotel, the first of its kind to be set up in a horse race track which can accommodate 70,000 viewers. He toured the hotel's various facilities and rooms so as to ensure the hotel's readiness to welcome the UAE's guests for the World Cup.
Shaikh Mohammad toured the hotel, which houses up to 290 suites and rooms and then went up to the roof, which overlooks the racetrack. He also viewed the swimming pool allocated for the hotel's occupants.
The project also includes over 10 restaurants a relocated Godolphin gallery, the Dubai Racing Club, a museum and a four-kilometre canal, which will run from the Dubai Creek to the racecourse.
Shaikh Mohammad also inspected the grandstand — the main feature of the new facility, spanning a kilometre and a half, and located just a stone's throw away from the present one at the Nad Al Sheba Club.
He inspected the grass which covers the racecourse ground, and the giant screen, located opposite the grandstand.
Shaikh Mohammad also inspected the underground horse tunnels and expressed his satisfaction with the work progress on the project and his confidence that it would be completed within its specified timeframe.
The first phase of the project is expected to be completed by March 2010. The whole project will be completed by March 2012. The total cost of the project is Dh10 billion.
