Mall of the Emirates to get $1.3 billion renovation

Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, home to a ski slope, to get $1.3 billion renovation

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Motorcycles ride along the road next to Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

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Shoppers move through the corridors of Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

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A man walks past storefronts inside Mall of the Emirates in in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

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People walk through the corridors of Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

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A man cleans the floor as people walk inside Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

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People walk inside Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

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People walk inside Ski Dubai, the indoor snow park located in Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

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Visitors enjoy skiing at Ski Dubai, the indoor snow park located in Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

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A man cleans the storefront of a shop at Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

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A man walks past a storefront inside Mall of the Emirates in in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The operator of Dubai’s sprawling Mall of the Emirates, home to an indoor ski slope in the desert sheikhdom, announced plans Wednesday for a $1.3 billion renovation at the mall.

The Dubai-based firm Majid Al Futtaim said the project would turn the mall “into a next-generation lifestyle destination.”

It said another 20,000 square meters (215,278 square feet) of additional space would be added to bring in another 100 stores to the mall, which already has hundreds of shops and restaurants. The mall saw over 40 million visitors in 2024.

The mall, which sits along the 12-lane Sheikh Zayed Road, long has been a landmark in the city, alongside its other major shopping destination, Dubai Mall. The malls are popular in Dubai’s summer months, when temperatures routinely reach 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) with high humidity.

Mall of the Emirates first opened in 2005.