Gulf Construction Online - Oasis Center set for grand renovation

Renovation & Refurbishment

Artist’s impression of the Oasis Center renovation.

Oasis Center set for grand renovation

One of Dubai’s prominent shopping malls, the Oasis Center, kicks off an ambitious renovation programme after it was gutted in a major fire last year.

01 March 2006

Following the recent gutting of the Oasis Center, Landmark Group has embarked on an ambitious programme that will see the creation of a more spacious, modern, convenient and diversified mall.

“There is no denying the fact that the fire and the damage it has caused has been a setback for the group. Yet, being a financially and operationally robust organisation, we have come out stronger from this disaster and are taking every step to avoid such a disaster in future,” says the chairman and CEO of Landmark Group, Micky Jagtiani.
“The new mall, which will continue to be called the Oasis Center, will have four levels of retail space, totalling 600,000 sq ft,” says group finance director Vipen Sethi.
“There will also be one level of office space of 200,000 sq ft, bringing the total area to 800,000 sq ft.”
The Landmark group is retaining 350,000 sq ft of the space for its own outlets while the remainder will be offered on lease with the hope that most of the earlier mall’s original tenants would return.
“Comparatively smaller than most of the malls along the Sheikh Zayed Road, the new Oasis Center is expected to become a quality shopping destination, which will carry forward the goodwill which the previous mall had enjoyed over the years,” says Sethi.
“Existing malls and the ones that are coming up are larger. The Ibn Batuta mall covers a retail area of one million sq ft, Mall of the Emirates has 2.4 million sq ft and Dubai Mall when completed will offer 3 million sq ft. Although smaller than the others, the new Oasis mall will offer three times the retail space offered by the old Oasis Center.”
The renovated mall will also have three basement car parks with a capacity of 1,600 cars. The new development will come up on the same location and will take 18 to 24 months for completion. The renovation project has been designed by internationally-renowned architects while local consultants specialising in retail space development have been retained to execute the project.
The new mall will include some of the bigger names in the retail sector including the Home Centre, with a massive 120,000 sq ft floor area, Centrepoint, Babyshop, Shoe Mart, Splash and Lifestyle over a 100,000 sq ft area, E Max with 80,000 sq ft over two levels and Fun City with a 25,000 sq ft area.
“The new mall will offer shopper-friendly spaces set in modern design, state-of-the-art facilities and will feature the world’s most advanced safety features,” he concludes.
The Landmark Group, which started operation from Bahrain in 1973 has a retail presence of over 5 million sq ft across the GCC, Jordan and India and is currently looking at exploring the Chinese market. The group currently operates over 400 stores and attracts an ever-widening customer base, representing varied nationalities, cultures and economic profiles, says Sethi.