ABU DHABI, 6 Dec, 04 (WAM) - Knowledge Village, a Dubai Holding entity,today announced plans to build a much bigger campus that will meet thestrong demand from the educational community from both within and outsidethe region.

"We have been overwhelmed by the demand on our facilities. We are oneyear old and have just about fully completed our facilities, but we havealready outgrown our current campus, which is large by any means," saidDr. Abdullah Al Karam, CEO of Knowledge Village, according toa press release issued today.

"To satisfy our long list of prospective clients we shall build a newcampus that will be double the size of the current one. The new KnowledgeVillage will occupy a space of 25 million square feet and will house between25-30 international universities and accommodate more than 36,000 students,"said Dr. Al Karam.

"We have taken the decision and are in the process of working out thedetails. An announcement detailing the ambitious new project will takeplace towards the end of this year. The new village will be ready forstudents -- who come from different parts of the world -- in about twoyears. This will help Knowledge Village achieve its goal of making Dubaian international centre for education and training." Dr.

Al Karam said that: "We hope that the new expansion will fulfill all therequirements of Knowledge Village until 2010. We shall build facilitiesfor training, accommodation, activities and leisure, all of which willcertainly help make it a unique campus and comparable with any in theworld." Knowledge Village, which recently completed a year since it wasestablished in 2003 in the Dubai Free Zone for Technology and Media (Tecom),aims at attracting the best universities in the world and creating anideal environment for education, one that matches the vast growth in theeconomic, technological, educational and social sectors in the UAE.

Dr. Al Karam said: "Knowledge Village has achievedtremendous success in just a year. It is now fully occupied and hostsabout 15 globally well-known universities, most of which have been officiallyannounced and the rest, including a university from Canada, is to be announcedin January." He added that: "With a construction cost of approximatelyDh 400 million, Knowledge Village also houses more than 200 companiesand institutes for training and education. More than 6,000 students cometo the campus every day. Some 25% of them are from countries in the MiddleEast in addition to the students from Arab and foreign communities residingin Dubai." Commenting on joining the umbrella of Dubai Holding, Dr. AlKaram said, "Being under Dubai Holding will enhance the activities ofthe Knowledge Village as it is directly linked to the other entities underDubai Holding and thus will gain from the synergies created." He alsosaid that the Knowledge Village will progress on the same path it hasdrawn for itself, while working to achieving its goals, as is the casewith the other entities of Dubai Holding.

According to Dr. Al Karam, Knowledge Village is a successfulproject in all its aspects. It has served the community and provided betteropportunities for education, and hence has contributed towards the shapingof well-qualified human resources to serve the UAE community.

"Knowledge Village has been able to draw the attention of students inthe region who used to seek education abroad, in countries such as Europeand USA. This is directly related to the development of the industrial,economic and social sectors in the UAE and the employment opportunitiesin the country," said Dr. Al Karam.

According to him, Knowledge Village has recently openeda department for student affairs, which will encourage the training ofstudents in Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City based companies,as well as in the Dubai Holding entities and outside.

Dr. Al Karam said the Knowledge Village management is in discussionswith a number of leading Arab universities, which are set to join thecampus.

He hopes to soon announce some of the leading names.

The Knowledge Village community houses a number of international universitiesand educational institutions from countries like Australia, India, Pakistan,Iran, Russia, Belgium, UK, Ireland, and Canada. In addition, it providesspecialised programmes in different fields such as administration, finance,business management, IT, medicine, sciences, mass communication and others.