Dubai to build street paved with gold as price of yellow metal soars

Dubai will build a new gold district — featuring a street paved with the yellow metal — as the emirate seeks to become the global centre for retail and trade in the commodity, whose price is soaring.

The district will be developed by Ithra Dubai, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Investment Corporation of Dubai. Planners hope to bring together the main gold and jewellery operators in one location, spanning retail, bullion, wholesale trade and investment, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported. 

Gold prices climbed past $5,200 per ounce on Wednesday for the first time this year, as the US dollar slipped to a near four-year low on persistent geopolitical tensions.

Gold, and silver to a lesser extent, are considered safe-haven assets as US President Donald Trump’s outbursts have swelled demand for the precious metals.

Gold’s share of countries’ international reserves is the highest in more than 30 years and the dollar’s share of global foreign-currency reserves has declined this century, the United Nations estimates. Investors bought 537 tonnes of gold in the third quarter of 2025, up 47 percent year on year, the World Gold Council says.

In 2024-25, the UAE exported $53 billion of gold, with trading partners including Switzerland, the UK, India, Hong Kong and Turkey. The emirate is the world’s second-largest physical gold trading destination, the statement said.

Further reading:

• Geopolitics and weak dollar ignite gold and silver prices
• Frank Kane: Dubai has no plans to give up its crown
• DIFC Zabeel: the empire strikes back

The new district will have more than 1,000 retailers across gold, jewellery, perfumery, cosmetics and lifestyle categories. It will also boast the world’s “first gold street”, constructed with gold and designed as an attraction for tourists and visitors, the report said. 

Dubai already has a four-decade-old gold souk, or market, in the commercial business district in Deira with more than 380 retailers.

On Tuesday the Dubai International Financial Centre revealed plans for an AED100 billion ($27 billion) expansion that will nearly triple its size by 2040.

The DIFC Zabeel District will add 17.7 million square feet of gross floor area to the free zone as regional competition intensifies and Dubai seeks to retain its first-mover advantage.