Busch Entertainment Corp., the family entertainment division of Anheuser-Busch, and resort developer Nakheel have partnered to construct four theme parks in Dubai, including SeaWorld and Busch Gardens.
The Worlds of Discovery project will be developed in phases and will include SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Discovery Cove and Aquatica. Busch said the Discovery Cove, a reservations-only park that features a variety of animal interactions, will be similar to the park adjacent to the SeaWorld Orlando. Worlds of Discovery will also include resorts, spas, shops and restaurants. The first Aquatica, SeaWorld's water park, opened this week in Orlando.
Nakheel will invest the necessary capital to build and operate the parks on the Palm Jebel Ali, one of the man-made Palm Islands in Dubai. Busch will license its brands to Nakheel and operate the parks under a management contract.
Worlds of Discovery will occupy a section of the Palm Jebel Ali known as "the Crown," which will resemble a giant orca when reclamation work is complete. Nakheel's plans for the Palm Jebel Ali also call for the construction of commercial, residential and shopping districts.
Preliminary design work and site planning is under way, with the project's first phase expected to open in 2012.
Nakheel, which is owned by the Dubai government, said more than 300 million cubic yards of sand and 10 million tons of rock have been used in the construction of the Palm Jebel Ali, with the island adding more than 52 miles of coastline to Dubai. Reclamation of the island is nearly complete and Nakheel has begun putting an infrastructure in place that will eventually support a population of 280,000 people.