Gulf Construction Online - City on the move

Dubai Review

City on the move

01 April 2009

ON A VAST 20-million-sq-ft site beside Emirates Road in the heart of Dubailand, a series of tower cranes herald the start of work on City of Arabia, which is being developed to be one of Dubai’s premier lifestyle destinations at a cost of some $5 billion.

Currently, a sequence of thousands of pile caps demarcate the location of one of the largest malls in the world – Mall of Arabia – within this retail, residential, commercial and entertainment district. The mall is one of the four components of this ambitious project which will also encompass Restless Planet, a $300-million edutainment centre, a vibrant waterfront community and Elite Towers, a group of elite towers.
While rumours and speculation surround many of Dubai’s major projects, City of Arabia’s owners Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari have confirmed that all components within the project are moving forward, with the global financial crisis having little impact on construction works.
Ilyas Galadari, chairman of the Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group, comments: “In line with the rest of the world’s construction industry, City of Arabia has experienced some delays, but this is natural with a project of this magnitude. We are pleased to say that all four elements are proceeding as usual.”
“Workers onsite are casting approximately 60 pile caps per week. At this rate, pile capping will continue for another seven months,” he adds.
Piling work is nearing completion on the Mall of Arabia project, where a total of 9,200 piles of the 9,800 piles have been driven, Alex Vacha, deputy director for projects, tells Gulf Construction. Piling is also under way on the Elite Towers, while on the Wadi Walk project, the main contractor will be appointed shortly following completion of excavation and shoring works, he adds.
The City of Arabia will have a phased opening starting towards the end of 2010, with the Wadi Walk to be the first component to open, according to Vacha.
Elaborating on the concept behind developing this project, Vacha says: “City of Arabia will be a key destination within the new Dubai. Lying at the gateway to Dubailand, the city will create an important business and commercial district, offering many desirable residential options supported by just about everything those who live and work there, and those who visit, could want or imagine. With business and administrative offices, schools and clinics, luxury apartments, shops, galleries, restaurants and unique entertainment attractions, City of Arabia is a spectacular lifestyle development.”

Mall of Arabia
Designed to be a family shopping resort, the Mall of Arabia will feature more than 1,400 diverse retail outlets, a five-star hotel, and waterfront alfresco dining. As one of the world’s largest malls, it will have a total gross leasable area (GLA) of 10 million sq ft – about 4 million sq ft of which will be developed in Phase One and 6 million sq ft in Phase Two.
Piling work is nearing completion on the project, while the mall’s electricity substation takes shape with concreting, plastering and equipment installation almost completed. The main contractor Dhabi Contracting is executing the foundation work and is expected to complete the mall’s first phase the first quarter of 2011.
As per P&T Architects & Engineers blueprint, the mall has been designed to ensure the widest possible footfall. “While malls are generally built in a racing lap design, Mall of Arabia’s design is concentric, which allows shoppers to get around much quicker and easier. It is also segmented, so those shopping for home furnishings, for example, or for women’s or men’s fashions, will find all the relevant stores are located conveniently close to each other,” says a spokesman for the development.
Visitors arriving at the mall by car will find there is ample parking and easy access. Mall of Arabia’s first phase alone will have covered parking for 10,400 vehicles on two floors beneath the mall. Parking areas will be carefully designated to allow shoppers to park close to travelators and lifts, which will carry them inside the mall.
Adding to Mall of Arabia’s pulling power is Restless Planet, which will provide visitors with a unique edutainment experience, and establish the mall as an attraction offering something for every age and culture. It is designed to draw in excess of 10,000 visitors per day, and send waves of extra shoppers into the mall.

Restless Planet
Design work has been completed on Restless Planet, which comprises a theme park, an earth science museum and a planetarium. Featuring what is expected to be the world’s largest collection of animatronic dinosaurs and spanning more than 500,000 sq ft, Restless Planet will create a remarkably life-like experience taking visitors back to prehistoric times, says Vacha.
“Combining science, state-of-the-art technology and thrilling entertainment, this unique visitor attraction boasts a collection of spectacular, themed rides, and provides accurate and authoritative knowledge of the Jurassic Age in partnership with the Natural History Museum, London and a team of other world-renowned experts,” he says.
Restless Planet will feature 110 animatronic dinosaurs, of which 70 have already been made by Kokoro in Japan, says Vacha.
The excitement provided by a spectacular collection of rides, state-of-the-art technology and special effects will be matched by the excellence of Restless Planet’s interactive museum.
Housed within a 246-ft-tall dome and a 500,000-sq-ft “cloud” building, Restless Planet will be connected to the Mall of Arabia’s second level via an enclosed glass bridge.
Restless Planet will open with the Mall of Arabia, and the ‘dinosaurs’ will be brought to Dubai a few months before the opening.

Wadi Walk
The Wadi Walk consists of spacious residential apartments, outdoor cafes and attractive retail outlets, built alongside a meandering 8 km canal.
The Mediterranean-style low-rise residential buildings lining the waterway offer large, well-appointed one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments as well as duplex and triplex apartments. On the ground floor, retail outlets, cafes, restaurants and convenience stores open on to a tree-lined walkway.
The Wadi will be excavated and built only after the buildings are finished, according to Vacha. Acting as the focal point of the development, the canal will be kept to a deep blue colour and pristine quality by 11 water filtration plants sunk within the basement. Visitors will cruise the waterway and have direct access to the Mall of Arabia via a fleet of water taxis electronically powered to eliminate noise and pollution, he says.
Phase One of Wadi Walk will contain six retail zones, providing space for more than 1,000 outlets, including fashion brands and general retail stores as well as a range of international eateries.
The development is designed to restrict traffic flow, with cars and other vehicles diverted to the rear of the apartment buildings where there will be ample car-parking for shoppers or those dining out and relaxing along the waterway. Each of the apartments will have their own parking spaces.

Elite Towers
This group of impressive mixed-use towers, ranging from 30 to 60 storeys, will be among the tallest towers in Dubailand and offer fantastic views of the Dubai skyline and City of Arabia. They will enjoy easy access to Emirates Road via City of Arabia’s monorail system.
Work is under way on three of these towers — the Wadi Tower, Metro Tower and I&M Tower – which are being developed by City of Arabia owners. The other commercial and residential buildings within this complex of towers are expected to be built by sub-developers.
Piling work has been completed on Wadi Tower by Simplex Infrastructures, the main contractor on the project under a Dh171 million ($56.6 million) contract. The 30-storey tower will feature luxurious apartments with a state-of-the-art health club, a pool, high-speed elevators and deluxe fittings throughout.
Piling work, meanwhile, is in progress on the Metro Tower and I&M Tower, both of which are 45 storeys tall.
The Metro Tower sits just 100 m away from the nearest monorail station. Floors One to 16 of the mixed-use building will offer commercial space, while Floors 18 to 45 will be for residential use and feature studio, one-, two-, three-bedroom, and duplex apartments. The 17th floor will accommodate a clubhouse, equipped with a modern gymnasium, indoor swimming pool, sauna, aerobics rooms, billiards room, and a children’s play area.
The I&M Tower, set in landscaped surroundings, is dedicated for commercial space which will be centrally air-conditioned and offer covered parking for each tenant, and a 24-hour maintenance and facilities management.

Monorail
City of Arabia’s monorail system will provide visitors with a comfortable and convenient link to all the major shopping attractions and other areas and will be linked to the Dubai Metro.
“The monorail system will be driverless and will provide safe, punctual and clean transport for residents and visitors. The 5-km monorail track will circle the perimeter of the city, with 11 stations along the route, serviced by six, two-car trains,” says Vacha.
The go-ahead for the system was given last September when the Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group signed an agreement for a monorail system from Metrail of Switzerland to serve the mass transit needs of the project. Civil and infrastructure design and consultancy will be provided by Sundaram Architects of India, with safety and verification services from Scandpower of Scandinavia.