Dubai Mall opening
November 5, 2008 by UAERush · Leave a Comment
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Emaar Malls Group, the developer of The Dubai Mall marks the opening with a series of high profile events, beginning with a public unveiling of the highly anticipated Dubai Aquarium & Discovery Centre at 4pm, today. The festive vibe will resonate throughout the mall with fashion shows taking place in the Fashion Catwalk, public skating at Dubai Ice Rink and high profile exhibits, galleries and performers providing entertainment for the entire family.
Besides its retail attractions including the Middle East debut of several global, high-profile brands such as Waitrose and Hamleys, The Dubai Mall has varied lifestyle and leisure offerings including a sprawling Gold Souk, the Olympic-sized Dubai Ice Rink and the multimedia-rich Fashion Catwalk atrium. The Dubai Aquarium & Discovery Centre is already in the global spotlight having clinched the Guinness World Record for the ‘World’s Largest Acrylic Panel.’
The Dubai Mall is centrally located in the Downtown Burj Dubai development – ‘the new heart of the city’ – just off Interchange One on Sheikh Zayed Road. Visitors can reach The Dubai Mall via multiple access roads from Sheikh Zayed Road, Financial Centre Road (previously called Doha Road), Emaar Boulevard, Downtown Burj Dubai, the newly opened bridge off Interchange One and through a direct access road near Emaar Square off Sheikh Zayed Road. The Dubai Mall will have a total of over 14,000 spaces for parking across three car parks, with valet services and a car locator ticketing system.
Sprawling over 12 million sq ft - equivalent in size to more than 50 soccer pitches – with an internal floor area of 5.9 million sq ft and a gross leasable area of 3.77 million sq ft, The Dubai Mall is the flagship development of Emaar Malls Group, the shopping malls subsidiary of global property developer Emaar Properties.
When fully operational, The Dubai Mall will have over 1,200 stores of which nearly 165 retailers – equaling 1.1 million sq ft, or 30% of the total gross leasable area of the mall - are either new to the region, or opening standalone or flagship stores for the very first time in Dubai. The retail mix includes two anchor department stores – Galeries Lafayette and Bloomingdale’s, both opening their first store in the Middle East at The Dubai Mall; 220 gold & jewellery outlets; 160 food & beverage outlets including Dubai’s largest food court with 40 outlets; a supermarket and an organic food mart.
Mr Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar Properties, said:
“The Dubai Mall is Dubai’s tribute to the world of retail and leisure. With the mall, we have set a strong platform for growth for the retail sector, one that reflects Dubai’s forward-looking model of creating robust business opportunities for enterprises from around the world. The Dubai Mall is, indeed, a confident affirmation of the strong economic fundamentals of the Dubai economy.”
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Emaar Properties wins Best Developer in MENA region at Euromoney Liquid Real Estate Awards
October 3, 2008 by UAERush · Leave a Comment
UAE’s Emaar Properties, the global property developer, has been adjudged Best Developer in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region at the Euromoney Liquid Real Estate Awards. Emaar won six awards in all, including awards for Best Developer in the UAE, and for Best Residential and Best Mixed-Use Developer in the MENA region and the UAE.
Euromoney Liquid Real Estate Awards honour the world’s leading developers for their commitment to industry best practices in overall project management and strong investor relations and corporate governance practices, as reflected in the company’s financial fundamentals. Euromoney Liquid Real Estate is a publication focused on international real estate financial markets, and the winners are selected from a global poll amongst industry professionals.
Arif Amiri, Senior Director - Investor Relations and Corporate Governance, Emaar Properties, said:
“The Euromoney Liquid Real Estate Awards are a reiteration of Emaar’s thought-leader position in the real estate sector of the MENA region. Emaar is recognised as the pioneer of master-planned communities, and leveraging on the strength of forward-looking government policies, continues to explore growth options in developed and emerging markets.”
He added: “The driving force in Emaar’s global expansion has been a sustained focus on maximising value for our stakeholders through best practices in investor relations and corporate governance. As we go global, it is imperative that we inculcate international standards that enhance investor trust and build the basis for a fundamentally strong company. The Euromoney Liquid Real Estate Awards are recognitions from the real estate industry peers for the financial and developmental track-record we have built for the company.”
Introducing the concept of master-planned communities in Dubai with path-breaking projects such as Emirates Living, Dubai Marina, Arabian Ranches and Downtown Burj Dubai, Emaar expanded geographically and into new businesses such as education, healthcare, financial services, shopping malls and hospitality ‘&’ leisure. This was in line with its Vision 2010 to become one of the most valuable companies in the world.
Today, Emaar has a strong portfolio of projects in 36 markets globally, with a development value for the international projects alone over AED 367 billion (AED 100 billion). Emaar has set industry benchmarks with project such as Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building; The Dubai Mall, one of the world’s largest shopping and entertainment destinations; and King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi Arabia, the single largest private sector project in the Middle East region. Emaar has unveiled integrated communities in Egypt, Morocco, Libya, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Canada and the US.
Emaar’s projects energise local economies by creating new job opportunities and supporting ancillary industries. The company’s development ethos is to create full-fledged communities that offer a spectrum of lifestyle amenities in integrated mixed-use neighbourhoods.
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Dubai Mall close to completion
Emaar Properties, the largest real estate developer in the Middle East, says the Dubai Mall is on track to open for business on October 30. The grand opening of the shopping centre, which will briefly hold the title of the world’s largest mall, had been pushed back from the previous date of August 28.
The mall, sprawling over a total area of 1.12 million square metres and 548,000 square metres of leasable retail space, had originally been scheduled to open late last year. However, Emaar officials said the project had been delayed due to expansion plans to the project, but it has now entered the final stages of construction.
“Developing a global landmark project like the Dubai Mall is a very complex process,” said Yousif al Ali. “It involves co-ordination with several project managers, government authorities and retail tenants. The revised opening coincides with period of key retail activity in the region – including UAE National Day, Eid Al Adha, New Year and Dubai Shopping Festival.”
Dubai Mall is expected to contain about 1,200 shops, as well as an ice rink and the world’s largest aquarium. Some 4.2 million square metres of mall space is in the works in Dubai, including the Mall of Arabia in Dubailand which will beat the Dubai Mall for the title of Dubai’s largest.
However, China is expected to claim the honour of building the world’s largest mall. The total gross leasable area in Dubai is expected to surpass four million square metres by 2010, up from 1.6 million in 2006.
Dubai Mall, just one of several retail developments by Emaar Properties, is meant to complement Dubai’s “downtown” district. The mall is situated next to Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building, which has experienced similar construction delays.
