Dubai plans to invest in a range of projects as part of a campaign for Dubai Creek to be added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, the MEED Destination Dubai 2020 conference was told on 28 January.

“The main aim of this initiative is to nominate Khor Dubai [Dubai Creek] to the UNESCO World Heritage list,” said the Dubai Municipality’s assistant general director of planning and engineering, Abdullah Rafie.

“The initiative is not just about the preservation of century-old architectural structures or about the experience proposed to the visitors of Historic Dubai. The nomination concerns the preservation of the true memory and identity of Dubai as a major international trade hub stretching between Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.”

Projects that have been approved and budgeted are:

• Hatta Heritage Souq and Motel (under construction)
• Deira Fish Market, part of the plan to comprehensively redevelop the Deira of Dubai city (under construction)
• A 119-hectare Dubai Safari Park in Warqa (under construction)
• The 20,000-square Dubai Crocodile Park, also in Warqa (under construction)
• A butterfly garden park
• Al-Awir palm park
• A miniature park that will have scale models of the world
• Flower Park
• Dubai Frame building in Zaabeel Park – this will be in the form of a simple rectangular frame comprising two 150-metre-high reinforced concrete cores connected by a 93-metre long steel bridge at the top of the cores
• Mohammed Bin Rashid Library in Jadaf, which is now under design
• The boat and fishing tools market in Al-Barsha south, which is also now under design
• Arts centre in Al-Quoz, which is under design
• Dubai Wetland Centre in the Dubai Creek – the centre will have retail space, a multipurpose hall, cafes, exhibition areas, electronic display spaces, observation points and live CCTV; it is under design