UAE and Qatar to develop extreme sports parks

Two new adventure sports parks are to be built in the UAE and Qatar.

The two projects, conceived by Abu Dhabi-based iMCC GREEN and USA-based Thelma & Boom will rely on a large number of eco-friendly technologies and materials.

Tenders will be open to contractors later this year, with construction scheduled for 2012 and the park openings planned for 2013.

A source explained "two versions of the world's first extreme sports park are being planned for development in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, both parks being the first USGBC LEED certified environmental theme parks in the world.

"The budget and location remain confidential at this time."

Among the activities offered by the park will be whitewater rafting, kayaking, scuba diving, free diving, cave diving, extreme mountain biking, mountain boarding, online skating, rock climbing, caving, zip wire courses, bungy jumping, and extreme water slides.

To reach planned green credentials, the parks will use renewable and solar energy, and incorporate technologies for water conservation, waste to energy conversion, solar desalination and ecological wastewater treatment.

The UAE park will be one of four 'edutainment' (education and entertainment) parks to be located in a wider development known as Pandora, which represents one of 200 planned 'ecosystem' communities around the world under a program known as PANGAEON.

Currently, details of the other parks and the wider Pandora development continue to remain confidential, but more details are expected to be announced at the Smart Build 2011 conference in Dubai this June.

For more information go to www.smartbuild2011.com/