Labels: Latest News, Shopping Mall

The shopping malls in Dubai, particularly the old and small ones, will soon begin to experience the pressure of decline in rents, as the city is all set to create an additional two million square meters of leasable area within a three year period, a real estate consultancy has revealed.

In that case, the supply of retail space for shopping malls in Dubai will exceed four million square meters by 2010, as against the current 1.8million square meters. Colliers International, in its report, mentioned that this huge supply of retail space will bring-forth short-term oversupply in the market. The smaller and older malls will then see sharp increase in vacancies, coupled with fall in rentals.

With an aim to be a top tourist and shopping destination, Dubai is building large shopping centers. UAE ranks next to Hong Kong in recreational shopping. The report states "These mega malls will strongly root the Dubai dominance in the retail industry across the region."

Labels: Commercial Property, Real Estate News, Shopping Mall

Dubai Contracting, a construction company, is said to have been awarded with a construction contract to build the Phase One of the Mall of Arabia, the major retail component of the $2billion City of Arabia project in Dubailand.

The project on completion will be the biggest shopping malls in the world, with 4.2million Square Feet of retail space in its Phase One with 1200 retail outlets.

The project is likely to be built within the next 21 months, with 10,000 or more workers. The Vice Chairman and Managing Director of City of Arabia, developer Elyas and Mustafa Galadari Group, said that the company has worked hard on choosing the right people for the job and Dubai Contracting has the reputation of being a company capable of delivering the projects on schedule, apart from having the right skill mix and equipment resources.

On completion, the mall will be readily accessible to the Restless Planet Dinosaur Theme Park and will be linked to the rest of the complex through a mix of hotels, restaurants and shops, commercial and residential units through small electrically powered boats.

A total of 85 percent of the total leasable area of the mall is committed to retailers.

Labels: Commercial Property, Construction Projects, Dubailand, Mall-of-Arabia, Office Space, Shopping Mall

The leading real estate developer in Dubai, Emaar Properties, has announced that their shopping mall subsidiary, Emaar Malls Group LLC, will soon unveil the Souk Al Bahar, the new shopping, dining and entertainment destination in the Downtown Burj Dubai.

Scheduled to be unveiled in December this year, the uniquely positioned in The Old Town Island, facing the Burj Dubai Lake, the Souk Al Bahar, will turn out to be a lively waterside hotspot for visitors and residents of Dubai, comprising more that 130 stores, a waterfront promenade, and the best of 25 cafes and restaurants.

The Chief Executive Office of Emaar Malls Group, Rashid Doleh, said "Souk Al Bahar will surely be a vibrant entertainment and shopping concept for the city, and a perfect style component that meets the requirement of all sections of the society. Located in the heart of Dubai City, the Souk Al Bahar provides one with the joy of living in the most dynamic cities in the world."

Souk Al Bahar is the most ideal complement that matches the most ambitious developments in the world such as the Burj Dubai and the Dubai Mall. A direct footbridge, which connects the Dubai Mall with the Souk Al Bahar, will see visitors having a convenient access to the best dining, shopping and recreational avenues in Dubai.

Covering an area of 164,700 square feet, the Souk Al Bahar has an electric retail mix which depicts the Arabian heritage through a genuine mix of perfumes, furnishings, jewelry, fashion and carpet deals.

Labels: Commercial Property, Emmar, New Developments, Shopping Mall

City of Arabia, the milestone project in the heart of Dubailand, has announced the appointment of Hill International, a leading global consulting firm, as the Construction Managers for the mega shopping complex, Mall of Arabia, which is one of the largest and ambitious retail outlets in the world.



Hill International has worked on major construction management projects such as the Shams in Abu Dhabi, Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and Comcast Center in Philadelphia.

"We are delighted to appoint Hill International as our Construction Managers. We have had a long standing relationship with Hill since 2005, and hence we appointed them as the Project Managers for City of Arabia development. We are confident that Hill can manage the construction of mega Mall of Arabia, with the progress of this challenging and innovative project further," say Ilyas Galadari, the Chairman, Ilyas & Mustafa Galadari Group.

The City of Arabia is the largest private property projects in the major development in Dubailand. The downtown Dubailand comprises the Mall of Arabia, the largest shopping mall in the region, a dinosaur theme park with 100 animatronic dinosaurs, the Restless Planet; and a 10km Wadi Walk, with Mediterrancean style apartments, shops and cafes apart from the canal - thirty four tower blocks for mixed use i.e., hotel, residential, commercial.

This realty project in Dubai, on its completion, will provided housing for about 35000 residents.

Labels: City-of-Arabia, Construction Projects, Dubailand, Mall-of-Arabia, New Contracts, Shopping Mall

Emaar Properties has launched the Dubai Marina Mall complex, comprising an entertainment and shopping center. The Dubai Marina Mall, situated along the waterfront, is scheduled for opening during mid-2008.

The complex covers an area of 42,000 Sq. Mts., and comprises of various retail outlets that offer a wide range of shopping options, a Cineplex, restaurants, cafes and children's entertainment area. The basement will be of two levels, in addition to a five storey parking area that has the capacity to accommodate 3000 vehicles.

The retail subsidiary of Emaar Properties, the Emaar Malls Group, is expected to lease the retail space soon. The mall focuses on a balanced entertainment and retail facility to suit the requirements of visitors and the residents of Dubai Marina.

The Chief Executive of the Emaar Malls Group, Rashid Doleh, says "Dubai Marina is one of the most fashionable lifestyle neighbourhoods in the city, and the Dubai Marina Mall will enhance the quality of living of residents by serving as a one-stop shopping and entertainment destination"

Dubai Marina Mall is expected to have a strong clientele with the 75,000 odd population of Dubai Marina, and several thousand residents residing in the waterfront neighbourhood.

Labels: Dubai Marina, Emmar, Shopping Mall

According to real estate developer Nakheel, the mega malls at Dubai is almost nearing capacity and there is an increased need for diversity in shopping concepts.

The CEO of Nakheel Retail, David Thurling, who is also behind the development of projects such as the Ibn Battuta Mall, is of the opinion that it is high time the local developers focused on new shopping concepts such as town center style shopping zones, factory outlets, and retail outlets and themed malls that link to main transport hubs. Even retail zones that are linked to metro stations, malls with focus on entertainment zones or shopping centers with a character or historical period theme are the other options that could be considered.

While speaking to delegates at the Dubai Retail City trade show, he said "The challenge for us in the industry is to think outside the square and to look at mall design in a different way for it to be competitive and offer something new in the market."

He added, that from a Nakheel point of view, the mega mall concept in Dubai cannot continue for long, as Dubai already has surplus current and upcoming malls, in addition to three largest shopping malls in the world, and we cannot continue building more of the same.

Labels: Nakheel, Shopping Mall

Bawadi, a Tatweer member, has entered into a joint venture with Al Ghurair Investment for development of a Dh.10billion shopping mall.

The first phase of the mall, expected to be complete by 2012, will cover 1.2million sq.mts., of leasable area, according to Tatweer.

The project is the result of a directive from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Al Maktoum, the Prime Minister and Vice-President of UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, so as to develop the mall to be the biggest shopping area in the world and thereby to double investment.

Al. Ghurair, the Chairman of Al Ghurair Investment and Saeed Al Muntafiq, Tatweer Chairman also signed the agreement.

Al Ghurair states the agreement basically emphasizes the confidence of Al Ghurair Investments in Bawadi as one of the most sought after investment opportunities and underscores the active role that Bawadi is likely to play to keep up the objectives of commercial and tourism sector as announced in the recent Dubai Strategic Plan.

He added that "The innovative and uniquely designed shopping mall will be one of the largest within the biggest shopping area in the world, and will add a new dimension to the variety of services and facilities offered by Bawadi. With this agreement, both companies will seek to bring back the historic Okaz Souq – the first ever retail outlet which existed in the region – as Arabs are known to be the pioneers in this sector."

Al Muntafiq, expressing his confidence in Bawadi, mentioned that their first agreement which included an initial investment of Dh.800million by Al Ghurair in the Al Maghreb Resort and Spa, will position Baswadi to be a leader in the tourism and hospitality industry providing solid opportunities and a supportive business friendly environment.

Labels: Al Ghurair, Shopping Mall

The Dh.100billion tourism and entertainment destination at Dubailand, ‘Bawadi’, will host the world’s largest shopping destination covering 40million sq.mts of land area.

This is the outcome of a directive from the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, due to its expected contribution to Dubai’s Strategic Plan 2015.

The shopping area will comprise of street shopping, boutique malls and shopping malls in an underground shopping area all connected to Bawadi’s various elements, so as to become the longest shopping avenue in the world.

Bawadi, the world’s biggest area by development size, launched during May 2006, comprises of hotel that is 10km long, convention centers, shopping strip and entertainment.

The Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, Mohammed Al Gergawi, mentioned that apart from offering the largest shopping area in the world, it will link to 31 hotels ranging from three star to five star, representing a strong platform for tourism development in the emirate, which will re-inforce the status of Dubai as one of the premier family destinations in the world.

Bawadi, is being constructed by Tatweer, a subsidiary of Dubai Holding. Bawadi will add 31 hotels with 29000 rooms with its centerpiece development Asia, offering 6500 rooms, entertainment, shopping malls and convention facilities.

Tatweer Executive Chairman, Saeed Al Muntafiq has confirmed that the initial road works is almost nearing completion, and the infrastructure work is on schedule.

Labels: Bawadi, Dubailand, Shopping Mall