The Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) ( ar, مركز دبي التجاري العالمي), historically called Sheikh Rashid Tower, is a 38-
storey
A storey (British English) or story (American English) is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the word are ''storeys'' (UK) and ''stories'' (US).
T ...
and a height 184 m
skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ri ...
in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...
,
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...
, which was erected in 1979. It is a purpose-built complex for events and exhibitions. The building is featured on the 100
dirham
The dirham, dirhem or dirhm ( ar, درهم) is a silver unit of currency historically and currently used by several Arab world, Arab and Arabization, Arab influenced states. The term has also been used as a related unit of mass.
Unit of ...
bank note
A banknote—also called a bill ( North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand.
Banknotes were originally issue ...
.
With over 1.3 million square feet of covered exhibition and event space, comprising 21 halls and over 40 meeting rooms across 3 floors, Dubai World Trade Centre hosts over 500 events annually. In 2015, the venue held 396 trade events and welcomed over 2.74 million visitors.
History
Built in 1979, designed by John R Harris and Partners (JRHP), the Sheikh Rashid Tower, as it was known back then, was amongst the earliest skyscrapers to be constructed in Dubai. Renamed after the late Sheikh
Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the 39-story Sheikh Rashid Tower no longer stands alone as it did when it was first built. It was inaugurated by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
on 26 February 1979.
[ Over the years, the Dubai World Trade Centre has been extended to include Exhibition Halls, Sheikh Rashid Hall and Maktoum Hall as well as the Al Mulaqua Ballroom, Sheikh Saeed Halls, Za’abeel Halls and the Trade Centre Arena. In addition, commercial buildings have been added including the Convention Tower and the One Central development with several mixed-use buildings.
In April 2020, in efforts to counter the ]COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, the DWTC was converted into a field hospital
A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile Ar ...
and Randox
Randox is an international health and toxicology company in the ''in vitro'' diagnostics industry headquartered in the UK, and owned by Peter FitzGerald. The company develops diagnostic solutions for hospitals, clinical, research and molecular l ...
laboratories with a capacity to treat up to 3,000 COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
patients.
In December 2021, The Dubai World Trade Centre announced that it will become a comprehensive zone and regulator of cryptocurrencies, products, operators and exchanges. A few days later it announced that it had signed a cooperation agreement with cryptocurrency exchange Binance
Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange which is the largest exchange in the world in terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies. It was founded in 2017 and is registered in the Cayman Islands.
Binance was founded by Changpeng Zhao, a dev ...
to set up an international virtual asset ecosystem.
Foreign consulates
The Consulate-General of Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
resides on the 17th floor, the Consulate-General of Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
resides on the 28th floor, the Consulate-General of Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
resides on the 22nd floor, and the Consulate-General of Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
resides on the 29th floor.Turkish Consulate General In Dubai
/ref>
Hotels
Two of the Accor owned hotels, 'Novotel
Novotel is a French midscale hotel brand owned by Accor. Created in 1967 in France, the company grew into what became the Accor group in 1983, and Novotel remained a pillar brand of Accor's multi-brand strategy. Novotel manages 559 hotels in 6 ...
World Trade Centre Dubai' and 'ibis
The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word ...
World Trade Centre Dubai' are located at the premises of DWTC with interconnectivity.
See also
* World Trade Centre Residence
The Dubai World Trade Centre Residence is a 41-floor tower in the Dubai International Convention Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Opened in 2008, World Trade Centre Residence is managed by Jumeirah Living. Jumeirah Living offers a mix of ...
* World Trade Centre (Dubai Metro)
World Trade Centre ( ar, المركز التجاري العالمي) is a rapid transit station on the Red Line of the Dubai Metro in Dubai, UAE, serving the area around the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) building. The station is named after t ...
station
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
1979 establishments in the United Arab Emirates
Buildings and structures completed in 1979
World Trade Centers
Skyscraper office buildings in Dubai
Diplomatic missions of Italy
Diplomatic missions of Japan
Diplomatic missions of Switzerland
Diplomatic missions of Turkey
Diplomatic missions in Dubai