Dubai-based leisure developer Ruwaad plans to develop a multi-billion dollar themed entertainment and mixed-use destination development on the north coast of Durban in South Africa.

Amazulu World, a uniquely African destination development covering approximately 16,500 hectares of land, is being billed as the biggest and most comprehensive development of its kind on the African continent.

Amazulu World will include a number of different zones and at the centre of the development will be what Hanif Merchant, chair of Ruwaad, dubs as "Africa’s first world-class internationally branded entertainment theme park".

Merchant said that the attraction will be developed as a "vibrant, harmonious and integrated leisure, living and working environment which is designed to be eco-friendly, minimise the impact on the area’s natural surroundings and embrace the area’s rich cultural and historical heritage".

He added: “Amazulu World will be the single largest development to be initiated in African history. We are very proud to be leading this hugely exciting development and to be bringing to investors, residents and tourists in Africa a world-class destination experience, in collaboration with our international partners.”

As well as Africa’s largest shopping destination, Ruwaad plans to build Africa’s most comprehensive and advanced sports village development, Africa’s largest lifestyle community and Africa’s first dedicated education and health village; alongside a number of hotels, resorts and spas, a marina, a variety of residential offerings, community facilities, and nature reserves.

The proposed development is directly north of the Thukela River and is located east and west of the N2 national road, a regional path of growth that connects the city of Durban with Richards Bay and the rest of the northern KwaZulu-Natal province. Furthermore, the project will be situated close to the US$1bn new King Shaka International Airport.

Initial studies indicate that Amazulu World will create more than 200,000 new jobs, and could increase tourism to the region by around 40 per cent through attracting millions of tourists.

Ruwaad is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Dubai 9 Group, a UAE-based investment company.

Dubai 9 Group is one of the three founding members of Enshaa Holdings. Enshaa, through Emirates Sunland, is developing and managing the Palazzo Versace Resort on Australia’s Gold Coast; the Palazzo Versace Resort in Dubai; the 80-storey D1 Tower, the White Bay master-planned community in Umm Al Quwain, the Emirates Financial Towers in the Dubai International Financial Centre; and the Karachi Financial Towers in Pakistan, amongst other projects.