After roughly five years of planning, Dubai announced that it’s turning the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise liner into a luxury hotel permanently docked at Port Rashid.

The famous vessel is at the centre of major redevelopment plan for the area near Bur Dubai.

The world famous QE2 made its maiden voyage in 1969 and sailed around the globe until 2008.

Dubai bought the vessel in 2007, and although from now on it will be permanently berthed in Dubai, its journey in delighting tourists is far from over.

Owners Istithmar announced today that the ship is being turned into a 300-room luxury hotel... and that it will be at the heart of a redevelopment project for Port Rashid.

Chairman of Istithmar, His Excellency Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem says those who’ve been on the QE2 before will find it familiar when returning.

“It has high-quality restaurants; it has a lot of entertainment facilities in it, which will be preserved,” he said. “We will leave everything as it is of course. The wear and tear we will fix, but we are not making major changes. The ship will preserve its tradition.”

Port Rashid is already home to Dubai’s thriving cruise ship terminal and authorities say the QE2 will be part of their efforts to transform the area into a family-orientated entertainment destination.

Shops, restaurants and even a maritime museum are also in the pipeline.

“We own 25,000 pieces of history for the maritime industry and those are stored in various places in the world,” said bin Sulayem. “We’ll bring them here so people will be able to appreciate the history.”

The entire development is expected to open in 18 months.

CEO of L.E.G.E. Solutions, Leili Gerami, says the QE2 and the new Port Rashid will surely be one of the city’s new major tourist attractions.

“QE2 will be a remarkable landmark same as Port Rashid development,” she said. “It is at the heart of the city where the whole history of tourism and history of Dubai started.”

His Excellence Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem agrees.

“Wait 18 months,” he said. “You will not recognise this place. And mark my word, this is Dubai and Dubai is taking off like you wouldn’t believe. This is part of Dubai. Believe me you will be surprised of what you’ll see in Port Rashid in 18 months.”

LOCAL NEWS

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