Dubai Holding has moved the location for its proposed Mall of the World development for a second time.

The move was announced by Dubai Holding vice-chairman and managing director Ahmad bin Byat, who said: “Tourism remains a major part of Dubai’s diversification strategy and Mall of the World will be a critical part of that vision. The new location on Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road will be an outstanding home for the project as it will allow us to further expand in the future according to market needs.”

No details of the scale of the moved project or its timeline were released. Dubai Holding just said the project “will now undergo extensive planning to become a major retail and leisure destination”.

In 2014, Dubai Holding moved the mall from Mohammed bin Rashid City to the Police Academy site opposite Mall of the Emirates on Sheikh Zayed Road.

The firm did not say whether other elements of the broader Mall of the World scheme will still be developed on the site as a rebranded project. As well as the mall, Dubai Holding was understood to be planning to build 35 office buildings and 8,000 residential units as part of the development, as well as on-street retail.

In 2008, Dubai Holding subsidiary Sama Dubai started construction work on a scheme that would have been an urban community at the Police Academy site, which was then known as Jumeirah Hills. The work stopped in early 2009.

The Police Academy is a prime location for development and its value is set to increase as it will be served by the second phase of the Dubai Tram network. That project is still in the early stages and consultants are preparing to submit offers for the design.