Large complex of amusement parks in Dubai celebrates opening

BUSINESS

Large complex of amusement parks in Dubai celebrates opening

The Associated Press Published Sunday, December 18, 2016 10:45AM EST

Dubai Parks & Resorts celebrates it's opening ceremony with fireworks in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- A massive complex of amusement parks in the southern desert of Dubai has celebrated its opening.

Organizers held the event Sunday for the Dubai Parks & Resorts project after it formally opened Friday.

The park includes a Legoland, a Bollywood-themed park, a movie-themed Motiongate park, a hotel and a shopping district. The park hopes to have a Six Flags by late 2019.

The project, estimated to be worth over $3 billion, sits along the dusty highway connecting Dubai to the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi.

Dubai hopes to develop the previously empty expanse, which will host the 2020 World Expo, or world's fair. Dubai already has plans to one day handle over 200 million passengers a year at the nearby Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central.