Universal Studios Dubailand was a joint venture costing over 8 billion
dirhams ($2.2 billion US) between Universal Studios and
Tatweer, a subsidiary of
Dubai Holdings. The theme park was announced in April 2007 with a theme park plan that expected to attract 5 million visitors annually and was scheduled to be completed in 2010. The project broke ground on July 27, 2008, but the financial problems prompted the developers to delay further development, and push back the opening from 2010 to 2012. However, no construction work on the project site had been reported since early 2009. By mid-2012, the only public evidence of the project was a gate bearing the Universal Studios logo. The identity of the Dubai joint venture partner was no longer clear, as Tatweer was dissolved in mid-2010, with most of its assets merged into TECOM or other members of Dubai Holdings. In April 2011, Universal was once again in talks with Dubai officials about finishing the Universal park. By late 2012, there had still not been any construction progress on the proposed site. In late November 2012, Dubai's ruler,
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced Dubai's renewed intentions to invest in an array of development projects in the desert just outside central Dubai, including
the world's largest mall and an attached Universal Studios branded "family entertainment centre". On October 27, 2016, plans for the Universal Studios Dubailand theme park had officially been scrapped and have not been revisited. ==Themed areas==