The developers of Dubai Healthcare City – a health and wellness destination occupying over four million square feet – have announced plans create “the world’s largest wellness village.”

The Dubai Healthcare City Authority are expanding the city, which launched in 2002, to feature a WorldCare Wellness Village which will occupy an area equivalent in size to 16 football fields.

Located on a waterfront site in Al Jadaf Dubai, the village will contain 810,000sq ft (75,200sq m) of built up area with holiday villas, personalised spas, sports venues and other health and leisure facilities.

The village will be anchored by a 100,000sq ft (9,200sq m) Wellness Center that will focus on prevention and management of diseases and ailments by offering comprehensive medical programmes built around patient education and lifestyle change.

“We are confident that the expansion will drive wellness tourism together with medical tourism, boosting Dubai’s diversified economy,” said Dr Raja Al Gurg, executive director of the authority. “It will bring together unique wellness concepts and specialised services such as rehabilitation, counseling, sports medicine and elderly care for both residents and visitors.

“The eco-friendly spaces will be designed to serve wellness and rehabilitation needs through features such as therapy zero-gravity pools, spas, and rigorous exercise and diet facilities.”

The village, proposed as “the world’s largest wellness concept”, is being driven by US-based medical consultant WorldCare International and developed by Dubai’s MAG Group. The architects masterplanning the project have yet to be revealed.

The site is expected to be operational in four years time.

Dubai Healthcare City is already home to two hospitals and more than 120 outpatient medical centres and diagnostic laboratories. The expansion into wellness reflects a growing trend, which has seen the likes of Delos develop a billion-dollar wellness district in the US state of Florida.

The WorldCare Wellness Village will form only a small fraction of the Dubai Healthcare City Authority’s ambitious expansion plans. The organisation intends to develop land over 22m sq ft (2m sq m) with homes, hotels, public spaces, medical facilities and leisure buildings that “improve wellbeing and lower healthcare expenditure in the long term.”

Bader Saeed Hareb, CEO of the city’s investment branch, said: “As projects take shape, there will be a significant impact on the overall health of our communities, giving impetus to more opportunities to develop unique wellness concepts.”