Gulf Construction Online - Nakheel to award tender for Dubai’s biggest mall

UAE Focus

Nakheel to award tender for Dubai’s biggest mall

01 June 2016

UAE master developer Nakheel will likely award tenders this year for its ambitious retail destination, Deira Mall, said to be the largest shopping destination in Dubai with a gross leasable area of an estimated 4 million sq ft.

Tenders have already been called for the prestigious project on Deira Islands, which could take three years to develop, reported the Gulf News, citing a top company official.

Currently, Dubai Mall holds the ranking in terms of scale, with a 3.77-million-sq-ft gross leasable area (GLA) and which is being added upon through an ongoing expansion.

“Deira needs a major retail destination and Deira Islands will provide that,” remarked Nakheel chairman Ali Lootah.

There is a second retail area on Deira Islands in the form of the Night Suq, which drew heavy interest at the time of its leasing. With the island project (much changed from the original Palm Deira masterplan), Nakheel expects to refocus development activity back on Deira.

The Deira Mall plus the Nakheel Mall, set for a first quarter-2018 opening on The Palm Jumeirah, will be the cornerstone of the developer’s retail strategy, he stated.

Last month, a 300,000-sq-ft extension – costing Dh100 million ($27.2 million) – was added to Ibn Battuta Mall with the 60 outlets fully leased. This forms part of a wider expansion the mall is being put through. There will soon be a two-storey link – featuring 90 outlets including a 24-hour food court – from the metro station directly to the shopping and entertainment destination.

A new multistorey car-park will be added to the development besides two new hotels and a second cluster for cinemas as part of the expanded masterplan.

A new expansion — also to feature a 300,000-sq-ft courtyard with a retractable glass roof for the winter months — will add 4.7 million sq ft to the Ibn Battuta Mall development. This could take between three to five years to complete and scale it up to 7 million sq ft of built-up and 1,000 outlets, the report said.