Piling work commences on Waterfront Centre

Piling work has started on the Waterfront Centre, Dubai Festival City's 2.5 million square foot retail, hospitality and entertainment facility, following the excavation of over 800,000 cubic metres of material to create space to house underground parking and services.

The Dh52 million contracts, awarded to Swissboring Overseas Piling, will see over 2,900 piles driven into the waterfront crescent site that will provide the foundation for a 160,000 square metre platform to support the super-centre.

"This marks a milestone in the evolution of one of the most important elements of Dubai Festival City," said Phil McArthur, director of marketing and leasing of Dubai Festival City.

"The Waterfront at Dubai Festival City has been developed in conjunction with some of the world's most acclaimed designers, operators and consultants to ensure we deliver a world-class downtown waterfront venue."

The deep excavations made were necessary to allow for two levels of basement parking and the support foundations for the three levels of leasing area above ground.

"A key advantage of the Waterfront Centre compared to other downtown facilities will be its expansive car parking," said McArthur.

"We have allowed for a 'car parking to leasable area ratio' of 6:2 which is the highest in Dubai. This will ensure visitors have a hassle-free experience and that we in turn do not become a victim of our own success."

Piling work should be complete by August but work will begin on the substructure in June.

"This will be a fascinating structure to observe under construction," said McArthur. "The entire building is fan-shaped – designed to curve around the man-made marina — and that's exactly how it will rise out of the ground, just like a fan opening alongside the Creek."

The Waterfront Centre structure at Dubai Festival City is due to be complete late next year and will open in September 2006.

Dubai Festival City is being developed on 1,600 acres on the banks of Dubai's Creek. Comprising 15 distinct development zones, Dubai Festival City is a property development by the Al Futtaim Group and is the Middle East's largest, privately-funded, mixed-use, real estate project.

It will comprise a unique mix of entertainment, dining, shopping, edutainment, sport and leisure facilities, automotive dealerships, hotels, a marina, residential and office components.

The first phase of construction is underway with the Al Badia Golf Resort, an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones II LLC, surrounded by Mediterranean style apartments and town homes, set to open late this year.

The Waterfront Centre at Dubai Festival City, a 250,000 square metre retail, dining and entertainment centre set on a waterfront marina, is also under construction.