Abu Dhabi’s $1b Al Maryah Central to be opened by the end of 2018

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi’s $1 billion (Dh3.67 billion) Al Maryah Central shopping mall will be opened by the end of 2018, with 76 per cent of construction currently completed, the chief executive officer of Gulf Capital told Gulf News in an interview.

“Al Maryah Central is going well, on tack and on budget. We are targeting to open it at the end of 2018. The construction will finish in September next year and we need a bit of time for getting approvals from the regulatory and governmental bodies before we open the mall,” said Dr Karim Al Solh.

Al Maryah Central, located at Al Maryah Island, is a joint venture project between Abu Dhabi-based Gulf Capital and the US-based Related Company. Earlier the company had announced that the mall will be opened in August next year.

Speaking on the leasing activity, Al Solh said with 50 per cent of the retail space is already leased with a number of new potential customers showing interest.

“We are expecting 70 per cent of the mall to be leased by the end of this year.”

He said the mall will have a mix of entertainment and dining that will drive a lot of traffic.

“Twenty per cent of the mall will have food and beverage component and ten per cent entertainment. That is important because you just can’t have retail alone. Apart from this, we are bringing a number of new brands to the region. This will be a unique mall on par with what you see in the US or Europe.”

The 2.8 million square feet mall will feature the first Macy’s outside of the United States, the first Bloomingdale’s in Abu Dhabi and 20 specialist Al Tayer stores as part of the 400 store retail offering.

Other attractions

In addition, Al Maryah Central will include 100 restaurants and cafés, a 21-screen Vox Cinema with Imax and a host of other attractions. Subsequent phases of the development will include residential units and a hotel in two high-rise towers.

The new shopping mall will be linked to the adjacent property, The Galleria Mall, which opened in 2013 and was also developed by Gulf Related.

When asked whether he sees any competition from the e-commerce sites that are rapidly developing in the region, Al Solh said they are trying to incorporate e-commerce into their mall by offering people the option to buy online and pick it up in the mall.

“When they pick up in the mall, I am sure they will go have coffee or a meal or buy something. We also have dining and entertainment options for people to visit the mall.”

On Galleria mall, he said some stores in the mall recorded double digit in sales recently.

“Luxury stores are doing well. Some stores are doubling in size and also new stores are coming to the mall. We are positioning Galleria as a luxury wing and Al Maryah Central will be more than an affordable wing.”

IPO

Al Solh said they are currently focusing on building value and completing their projects when asked about IPO plans.

“We have so much on our plate, we need to build our projects long term for substantial income and then we can consider more options [IPO]. The current economic environment is soft.”

Saudi Arabia project

The company’s residential project in Saudi Arabia will be built in phases due to slowdown in the economy, Al Solh said.

“It [the project] is bit delayed. We are bit cautious and are delivering in phases rather than in one shot.”

The firm is building 520 units including villas, town houses, and apartments.

“We will deliver apartments first, followed by villas. It is a substantial project of one billion Saudi riyals.”

Expansion plans

On expansion plans of the company, he said they are investing across the Gulf and Egypt and closed their second credit fund of $251 million in December. They are planning to invest more in the Middle East and Sub Saharan Africa.