Benaa and Dubailand have signed a Dh6.5 billion ($1.8 billion) deal to set up a vast complex housing a fully integrated ‘golf city’ at Dubailand.

The project will feature five themed signature courses, a golf academy, a six-star resort hotel and spa, golf communities, golf villages and retail suqs, says a spokesman.
Envisioned to have courses that will be challenging and can be used by international golfing leagues for competitions, the project will create an environment to promote local and regional players to excel at this sport and eventually compete at international levels.
“Dubai Golf City is yet another premium addition to the value-packed offering of Dubailand,” says CEO Salem bin Dasmal. “We are tasked with creating ‘something for everyone’ at Dubailand and we want to do that while achieving the highest levels of sophistication and quality in each and every of our projects.
He adds: “Once complete, the Dubai Golf City will offer the most comprehensive services and facilities related to the sport of golfing that are available anywhere in the world.
“The city has a very distinctive masterplan where careful planning has been given to ‘social interaction’ in various project elements with interactive squares, courtyard, plazas, waterfront promenades and traditional suqs.’
IMG – one of the world's largest sports marketing group, which boasts of a clientele that includes Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen, Annika Sorenstam and Sergio Garcia – is on the shortlist of potential partners to design some of the signature golf courses.
The architecture will provide a fusion of Arabic, Islamic and Moorish design elements resulting in a unique development that harmonises the culture and history of the region. In addition, the architectural character of the overall project is very unique and rich,” says the spokesman.
Dubai Golf City will sprawl across a 55 million sq ft area making it one of the largest projects in Dubailand. “We envisage the Dubai Golf City as a one-stop sport and leisure solution for all levels of golfers, tourists and residents,” says Benaa chairman Abdulla Saeed Al Thani.“We are building a community where all who love golf and are associated with it can come together and enjoy the sport with like-minded people and the promoters have the advantage of having the best project elements in their respective classes.
He continues: “The project will have residential communities offering breathtaking views of the golf courses and the many lakes, and will offer a balanced mix of sports, leisure, education, hospitality, retail, and recreation. The idea is to create a self-sufficient community devoted to golf.”
Dubailand is being developed as an integrated destination devoted to offer the best in terms of tourism, leisure, entertainment and lifestyle. The location within this unique development is key to the success of the Dubai Golf City, says Al Thani.
Spread over three billion sq ft, Dubailand will be the largest and most unique projects of its kind in the region, if not the world and when fully operational, the promoters expect to attract a footfall of more than 200,000 people every day.