Warner Brothers has plans to open a theme park in Abu Dhabi that will cost around one billion dollars to put in. The indoor theme park is being built on Yas Island and should be open sometime in 2018. The Abu Dhabi based developer Miral Asset Management has announced its plans along with Warner Brothers to complete the park within a couple years.

According to a statement made by Miral Chairman Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak:

“World Abu Dhabi theme park is estimated at $1 billion and is a milestone in the emirate’s journey to put Abu Dhabi on the global map as one of the world’s leading tourist destinations.”

The park will include a hotel, a theme park with 19 rides, and a multiple cinema. This is not the first announcement of a theme park heading to the area. Later this year we can expect to see the opening of both IMG World Of Adventure and Dubai Parks And Resorts.

According to Raed Kajoor Al Nuaimi, who is the CEO of Dubai Parks and Resorts:

“Theme parks and entertainment destinations are integral to the desire to attract more families to Dubai as part of the Tourism Vision 2020 to double Dubai’s annual visitor numbers from 10 million in 2012 to 20 million in 2020.”

The Warner Brothers project alone is expected to create 1,000 new jobs in Abu Dhabi, as well as dramatically increase the number of visitors to Yas Island. They expect the numbers to rise from 25 million in 2015 to 30 million in 2018, which is a pretty significant increase.

The Dubai Parks and Resorts center opening this year will include a Legoland, as well as a theme park that is inspired by Hollywood and is a collaboration between Lionsgate, Dreamworks, Sony Pictures, and Bollywood Land for Motiongate Dubai. Rajmahal Theater will be home to the first full Broadway-style Bollywood themed musical in the region, and there will also be a Smurf’s village. The Legoland will also include a water park, and places to stay will include the Lapita Hotel, a Polynesian-themed resort. This park will be the largest multi-themed leisure and entertainment destination in the middle east.

According to Abdul Rahman Falaknaz, who is the IEC chairman and organiser of the Deal Show:

“Entertainment and leisure projects within the UAE and across GCC have boosted the confidence of the amusement and leisure industry manifold. UAE is experiencing this exponential growth because of its quality infrastructure and growing tourism and retail industry sectors. This also brings in considerable amount of footfall as families merge business with leisure activities and that further propels the theme park industry.”

Overall the theme parks in Abu Dhabi are expected to generate close to five billion dollars by the years 2020, according to the organisers of Dubai Entertainment, Amusement and Leisure show.