A Six Flags-branded theme park is finally coming to Dubai. A strategic partnership has been signed between Six Flags Entertainment Corporation and Dubai-based Meraas Leisure and Entertainment to open the new park in 2017.

It will be located within Meraas’ multi-theme park development in Jebel Ali. Financial terms of the partnership have not been disclosed.

Six Flags first announced plans to locate a theme park in Dubai in 2008, to be built by another company, Tatweer. The companies also unveiled plans to construct a park in Qatar, only for both projects to be shelved when the global recession took hold.

But Six Flags is once again focused on growth and is fully committed to an international expansion strategy, as it seeks to partner with organisations in emerging and successful markets outside North America.

"The cornerstone of that strategy has always been finding the right partner in the right location and, with Meraas in Dubai, we have done exactly that," said Jim Reid-Anderson, chairman, president and CEO of Six Flags Entertainment.

Meraas Leisure and Entertainment, a subsidiary of real estate development company Meraas Holding, said it was committed to creating one-of-a-kind experiences and contributing to the Dubai Tourism Vision 2020, a government goal to double visitor numbers from 10 million in 2012 to 20 million by 2020.

“Our association with Six Flags will help us develop a world-class destination that redefines the industry and positively impacts the regional tourism sector,” said Raed Al Nuaimi, chief leisure and entertainment officer at Meraas Leisure and Entertainment.

Read a profile of Six Flags CEO Jim-Reid-Anderson in Attractions Management here.