The $8.17 billion Desert Rose project, which is set to become a smart and sustainable satellite city, reached the detailed design stage, according to Arabian Business, quoting a Dubai Municipality official.

Daoud Al Hajri, Assistant Director General for Engineering at the municipality, stated that the masterplan had been approved and that “the consultant is working on the detailed design which will take one year to complete.”

Khatib & Alami, a UAE-based engineering company, has been hired as the consultant for the project, which will be build on an area of 14,000 hectares on the Dubai-Al Ain Road.

The city will aim to achieve sustainable development through green energy, abiding by regulations passed by Dubai in 2011 and 2014 in order to achieve sustainability by 2020. Upon completion, it will house 160,000 people.