Dubai: At least 2,000 jobs will be up for grabs in Abu Dhabi after a new shopping mall opens its doors to the public, it has been confirmed.
Dubai’s retail giant Majid Al Futtaim announced on Wednesday that work on its My City Centre Masdar is nearly reaching full completion and will go on stream in the second quarter of 2019.
The Dh300-million community retail development is being built at Masdar City, the UAE capital’s hub for clean tech companies. Its construction has so far created 1,500 new employment opportunities through the “build-out phase.”
According to the company, an additional 2,000 new jobs will be created after the opening of the mall.
The new retail complex will feature more than 70 stores, including a 7,000-square-metre Carrefour Hypermarket, as well as restaurants, cafes and other dining venues.
It will add 18,500 gross leasable area (GLA) to Abu Dhabi’s existing retail supply, further widening the options for retail consumers.
Abu Dhabi has been drawing a lot of interest from investors looking to tap into the emirate’s growing population. As of the first quarter of 2018, the capital’s gross leasable area stood at 2.15 million square metres distributed in a mix of convenience, neighbourhood, community, regional and super regional retail centres, according to ValuStrat.
Bin Butti International Holding had earlier announced the construction of two community markets in Abu Dhabi, one in Al Nahda and the other at Al Samha, with a total estimated cost of Dh85.5 million.
National Investment Corporation had also announced the construction of Marina Walk, an expansion of Marina Mall, that will span an area of 300,000 square metres and feature high-end retail and fine dining options.
Majid Al Futtaim, the developer of Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates and Deira City Centre, also seeks to cash in on the growing consumer base in the emirate, particularly in Masdar.
More than 600 companies and thousands of residents have already moved to the hub since its opening.
The community is set to expand further as new offices, homes and leisure facilities are currently under development.
“We expect the number of people living within the city to triple by 2020 in line with our growth plans,” said Mohamed Jaameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar.
