Dubai chooses 'environmental responsibility' over 'biggest,' 'tallest'

Dubai's hyped Mall of the World project will be scaled back significantly from original plans.

As Bloomberg Business reports, when Morgan Parker took charge of the project, his first move was to take things back to the drawing board. As the new CEO of Dubai Holding LLC, he wanted to fix what was wrong with the planned $20 billion development.

"We are avoiding the biggest of this and tallest of that," Parker told Bloomberg Business. "Dubai is maturing as a city and investors are looking for rational projects. At the end of the day, the money is made by the tenants paying the rent and they are looking for projects that function."

Initially, the 2.70 million square meter development was being touted as fully air-conditioned, however, this is one of the things that Parker immediately decided needed to be scaled back, citing environmental and financial concerns.

"Air conditioning an entire development is not financially viable and not environmentally responsible," Parker said. "Without shade, people can walk about 176 meters and then they’re done. You give people shade, they can go further and if you allow them an opportunity to walk into air-conditioned space at 24 degrees Celsius, the body temperature drops down to a neutral position."

Dubai Holding has instead commissioned a study to determine how it can more feasibly prevent large areas of the development from overheating. The development's building's will also be constructed closer together, minimizing outdoor walking and adding more shaded areas.

The project has been adjusted from the original plan of one colossal shopping district to become three separate malls. These will be built in stages as demand and funding grow.

However, even with the scale backs and adjustments, the massive project will still need to attract significant financing. While Dubai Holding plans to front 50 percent of the cost, the remaining funds will come from investors.

"This is a very, very large project," Parker said. "It’s going to require an enormous amount of work and capital to bring to fruition."