The company that brought snow to Dubai have set their sights on helping build the world's biggest indoor ski park in China.
Majid Al Futtaim, the developer behind Ski Dubai, has announced that it will provide design and development consultancy services for Wintastar Shanghai, an alpine-themed park set to be more than three times the size of the Al Barsha attraction.
The 90,000 square metre park in the subtropical city will have an Olympic-standard slope, as well as snowy play zones for those reluctant to put on a pair of skis.
It is the company’s first project in East Asia and will be led by Singapore-based KOP Limited, a real estate development and entertainment company.
The agreement is the beginning of an “extensive international footprint” for Al Futtaim’s indoor snow parks, said the company’s chief executive officer Ahmed Galal Ismail.
"We are delighted to work with KOP Limited and provide our expertise in developing what will be one of the greatest indoor snow entertainment facilities in the world,” said Mr Ismail in a statement.
“This partnership underscores Majid Al Futtaim's extensive knowledge and experience in designing, developing and operating indoor snow entertainment facilities that speak to changing customer and lifestyle preferences.”
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China currently holds the record for the world’s largest indoor ski and snow park. The current title holder is the 80,0000 square metre Harbin Wanda Indoor Ski and Winter Sports Resort. It opened last year in Harbin, a city near the Russian border famed for its year-round ice sculptures.
The indoor slopes of Winstastar will be a contrast in subtropical Shanghai, where temperatures average from 3°C in winter to 33°C in July.
Ski Dubai, the first indoor ski park in the Middle East, boasts a still far from inconsiderable 22,500 square metres of indoor ski space.
A completion date for the Shanghai project has not been announced.
The world’s first indoor ski park opened in an abandoned railway station in Vienna in 1927 and it was the 2005 opening of Ski Dubai that helped put Dubai on the world map for opening a ski hill in the desert.
Majid Al Futtaim has since launched a number of snow parks in the Middle East. Ski Egypt opened in greater Cairo last year and Majid Al Futtaim is currently developing an indoor ski parks in Saudi Arabia, as well as snow parks in Oman and Abu Dhabi.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
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Honeymoonish
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
