Dubai : Located in Dubailand, City of Arabia, which is set to have a phased opening starting from 2011, is a $5 billion (Dh18.4 billion) retail, residential, commercial and entertainment mixed-use development covering 20 million square feet.
Featuring Dubailand's main retail offering and a new animatronics theme park, the mega project is set to add much needed colour to the staggered progress of Dubailand.
The project is made up of four components; Mall of Arabia, touted to be one of the world's largest malls upon completion; Restless Planet, a $300 million theme park and earth science museum; Wadi Walk, a waterfront community with apartments, outdoor cafes and attractive retail outlets; and Elite Towers, a collection of commercial and residential buildings.
"The project has experienced some delays, as has the rest of the world's construction industry, but all the main elements are proceeding as usual," said Nooman Khan, senior vice president of sales, at City of Arabia
Eighty per cent of residential properties have been sold to date. The rest have been withheld to sell at a later date, as part of the strategic business plan, he said.
Upon completion, Mall of Arabia will have a total gross leasable area (GLA) of 10 million square feet. With more than 1,400 diverse retail outlets, a rooftop hotel, will act as the entertainment nucleus to the development.
Alex Vacha, deputy director of projects at City of Arabia, said a great deal of thought has gone into the design of Mall of Arabia to ensure the widest possible footfall for our retailers.
"Normally, malls are built in a racing lap kind of design, but the design of Mall of Arabia is concentric, which allows shoppers to get around much quicker and easier," he said. "The mall is also segmented, so for instance, if you were shopping for home furnishings, or men's or women's fashions, you will find all the relevant stores conveniently close to each other."
Lease
So far, 89 per cent of gross leaseable area (GLA) in the Mall of Arabia has already been contracted and reserved. "We have signed contracts with some of the biggest retail organisations in the region. We are purposefully holding back the remaining 11 per cent of GLA so that we can bring the most up to date retail offerings to the region," Vacha said.
Featuring the world's largest collection of animatronic dinosaurs and spanning more than 500,000 square feet, Restless Planet is an ‘edutainment' venue taking visitors back to prehistoric times.
"We are bringing a brand new, unique attraction to Dubai in the form of Restless Planet. Part theme park, part earth science museum, Restless Planet will combine theatre, drama, rides, shows and art to create an edutainment experience for visitors of all ages," says Vacha.
Wadi Walk is a waterfront community consisting of 1,600 apartments, outdoor cafes and more than 1,000 retail outlets built alongside an eight kilometre canal. Elite Towers is a collection of commercial and residential towers.
Within the residential section there will be a total of 8,200 residential units, housing approximately 40,000 residents and a catchment area containing 1.87 million people.
A self-contained community designed to minimise the use of cars, City of Arabia will be served by its own monorail system with a connection to the Dubai metro. Visitors and residents will also be able to take water taxis from Wadi Walk through to the inside of Mall of Arabia.
Mall of Arabia which will be the first component to be complete will be opened in two phases; phase one will comprise 4 million square foot of gross leasable area (GLA) which will be spread over two levels and comprise of 1,400 stores. A further six million square foot of GLA will be provided in Phase Two.
All infrastructure works are now complete and visible construction work is progressing.
City of Arabia will have a phased opening from the beginning of 2011. Wadi Walk will be the first element of the project to open.
"Market forces dictate property value and of course, we have experienced variables since the project was launched. Our focus is on providing our investors with value for money," Khan said.
Project
Name: City of Arabia
Location: Dubailand
Value: $5 billion
Developer: Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari
Delivery date: Phased opening from 2011
Total built up area: 20 million square feet
