Dubai: Dubai-based conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) launched the first My City Centre, a neighbourhood mall, in Sharjah’s Nasseriya area on Monday.
With a retail space of 5,540 square metres, the Dh84 million My City Centre features 21 stores, including a Carrefour, Ahmad Seddiqi & Sons, Emax, Samsung, Axiom Telecom and Shoe Express.
“Sharjah was the ideal and first location [for My City Centre], given the recent retail boom and also the residential prospects,” said Dimitri Vazelakis, executive managing director of shopping malls for Majid Al Futtaim Properties, one of MAF’s business units.
MAF does not plan on introducing an entertainment facility, such as a cinema, at the mall, given its small size, and does not plan on expanding it, according to Vazelakis.
Construction of two other neighbourhood malls under the Matajer brand, which means stores, will begin “later this year” and are expected to be completed by early 2015, Vazelakis told Gulf News.
The two Matajer shopping centres will be rolled out by Sharjah Holding, a joint venture between the Sharjah government and Majid Al Futtaim Properties. The properties will be added to the existing four, including Matajer Al Quoz, Matajer Al Juraina, Matajer Al Khan and Matajer Al Mirgab.
More shopping malls under the My City Centre brand will be rolled out across the UAE, but locations are still being studied.
“We are actively pursuing many opportunities, but we don’t have specific places,” Vazelakis said.
The next My City Centre may have a Magic Planet, he said.
MAF has invested Dh200 million to expand Sharjah city centre, which will see an additional 13,500sqm of gross leasable area to make way for 28 retail outlets. Work on the redevelopment project is expected to start this summer.
