Gardens Shopping Mall gets connected

Due to be completed towards the end of 2004, the interchange will be located at the northerly end of the mall, between interchanges 5 and 6 on Sheikh Zayed Road. Access (entry and exit) will be provided from both the Abu Dhabi and Dubai directions.

"Once the mall commences operations the volume of traffic to and from the area will naturally increase substantially. In order to ensure the least interruption to the flow of traffic on Sheikh Zayed Road it necessitates a dedicated interchange", said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Nakheel. "We want to ensure the shopping experience both in the mall and on arrival and departure is a pleasurable one".

Substantial research was undertaken by Nakheel in order to implement a traffic system that ensures a smooth movement of traffic at the Gardens Shopping Mall. As part of the overall traffic scheme, Nakheel is constructing the dedicated interchange and the various arterial roads in co-operation with Dubai Municipality.

Parsons International Limited has designed the dedicated interchange, whilst Wade Adams is the main contractor.

Further commenting on the overall mall Sulayem said, "The construction is progressing well with the majority of the structure now in place. The success with leasing of the mall has also been very re-assuring with 70 percent now leased".

Alive with colour and character, the Gardens Shopping Mall will invoke the region's unique heritage in a surprisingly modern retail, dining and entertainment environment.

The inspiration behind the retail concept has been based on the travels of the famous 18th century explorer Ibn Battuta. The mall's architecture and interiors will reflect five of the key countries the explorer traveled to including Morocco, Egypt, Persia, India and China.

The mall's convenient location was chosen after extensive population studies calculating the future population of the area within a 15minute radius. This area is experiencing a major development boom both on a residential and tourism level. Within this 15minute radius are several of Nakheel's other projects including The Gardens, Jumeirah Islands, The Palm and Jumeirah Lake Towers.