Dubai Food City

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Dubai Food City is a planned free economic zone in Dubai for wholesale food merchants. It would host about 400-500 companies and is estimated to cost US$200 million (AED 734 million). The first phase was expected to be completed in 2012, and the project would span 5,000,000 square feet (460,000 m2). Detailed plans were never released. A speculative master plan was created by Steven Velegrinis of GLCA, a landscape architecture firm focused on landscape urbanism. This plan was not commissioned by the developer and was meant to inspire collaboration with Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. The Dubai Chamber of Commerce announced in early 2009 a free zone for logistics and food shipping called Food City, aiming to make the area self-sufficient and financially viable. GLCA ideas included artificial roof landscapes, renewable energy systems, aquatic farms, vertically stacked landscape surfaces, and thermal conditioning. The project is seen as boosting UAE food security, since the country imports about 90% of its food. “It will make prices more competitive and will allow sufficient stock at any given time right on your doorstep, so there will never be a shortage,” said Qasim.