Who said you’ll be able to’t reach the moon? The proposed $5 billion real estate project aims to elevate skyscraper-studded Dubai to latest heights – by bringing the symbol of heaven down to earth.
Canadian entrepreneur Michael Henderson envisions constructing a 900-metre replica of the moon on top of a 100-metre constructing in Dubai, already home to the world’s tallest constructing and other architectural wonders.
Henderson’s design, called MOON, may sound out of this world, nevertheless it would easily fit into this futuristic city-state. Dubai already has a red-hot real estate market driven by the wealthy who fled the restrictions imposed of their home countries during the coronavirus pandemic AND Russians in search of refuge during Moscow’s war with Ukraine.
And while the previous ups and downs saw many big projects fail, Henderson and others suggest that his vision, funded by Moon World Resorts Inc., which he co-founded, will not be that far-fetched.
“We’ve got the biggest ‘brand’ in the world,” Henderson told The Associated Press, alluding to the moon itself – a celestial body – being its brand. “Eight billion people know our brand and we’ve not even began yet.”
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Henderson’s proposed project includes a resort center inside a spherical structure, complete with a 4,000-room hotel, a 10,000-capacity arena, and a “moon colony” that can give visitors the impression of walking on the moon.
The MOON would sit on a circular pedestal-like constructing and glow at night. Henderson discussed the project at the Arabian Travel Market in May in Dubai.
Already, the artist’s renderings commissioned by Moon World Resorts have played with the location of his MOON – including the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest constructing at 2,710 feet. Others have placed it in the Dubai Pearl, a long-dormant project now being demolished near the Palm Jumeirah man-made archipelago, and its unfinished sister, the Palm Jebel Ali.
![Michael Henderson, co-founder of Moon World Resorts](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000011348412.jpg?w=1024)
The Pearl and Palm Jebel Ali represent two “white elephant” projects left over from the 2009 financial crisis that rocked the sheikh and compelled Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, to provide Dubai with $20 billion in aid.
Now, almost 15 years later, Dubai has largely modified. Rents in Dubai increased by a mean of 26.9% year-on-year, even with protection against undercutting. Last 12 months, 86,849 apartments were sold in Dubai, beating the previous record of 80,831 from 2009.
“Dubai is in a completely different world compared to” 2009, said Lewis Allsopp, CEO of the well-known Dubai real estate agency Allsopp & Allsopp. The introduced products “sell out on the spot”.
Inflation and rate of interest hikes around the world have sparked fears of a global recession. The currency of the United Arab Emirates, the dirham, is pegged to the dollar, meaning it follows increases imposed by the Federal Reserve.
Nevertheless, money continues to be king for buyers in Dubai, and in 2022, a quarter of fifths of transactions were paid for in unfunded currency, said Faisal Durrani, head of Middle East research at real estate agency Knight Frank.
“You could possibly argue that the rate of interest hikes which are going down are somewhat shielded from them by the market to some extent, provided that a lot of the deal was driven by money,” Durrani said.
![The rendering shows the $5 billion MOON project that was to be built on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah island.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000011348401.jpg?w=1024)
Other major projects are moving forward.
Nakheel, the state-owned developer behind Palm Jebel Ali, has resumed development plans for the facility. The developer has also revealed a multi-billion dollar plan to build 80 resorts and hotels on Dubai’s man-made islands, though it stays largely empty and under the flight path of nearby Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel.
The MOON project also includes space for a possible casino. Gambling stays illegal in the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven hereditary sheikhs in the Arabian Peninsula. Nevertheless, major brands resembling Caesar’s Palace exist already or hope to emerge in Dubai. Wynn Resorts plans to build $3.9 resort in Ras al-Khaimah north of Dubai The gambling home is due to open in 2027 – which implies there’ll likely be a change in the law.
Like other high-profile, eye-catching wonders, the MOON could well fit into “a formula for legitimizing Dubai’s ruling elite,” said Christopher Davidson, a Middle Eastern expert who recently wrote the book From Sheikhs to Sultanism. Dubai can also be host to the United Arab Emirates space center that sent a probe to Mars and tried unsuccessfully to put the rover on the moon.
“They might be seen as an undemocratic elite, but they nevertheless firmly consider in science and progress – and ultimately it’s extremely legitimizing, and a megaproject like this seems to tick all those boxes,” Davidson said.
![MSG Sphere in Las Vegas](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000006675976.jpg?w=1024)
Henderson’s plan would go a step further than other globe-shaped projects resembling the MSG Sphere, a $2.3 billion dome covered in LED screens due to open in Las Vegas later this 12 months.
Its structure could be fully spherical and will alternatively be illuminated as a full moon, crescent or half moon.
Brightness may not please potential neighbors – plans to build one other MSG Sphere in London have been placed on hold after residents protested the significant light pollution and disturbance the construction would cause.
“It’s hard to please everyone,” admitted Henderson. “You could possibly use some dark curtains.”