Mall of the Emirates starts hand-over of retail units ahead of schedule

At a breakfast meeting held at the site on May 3rd, Jeff Rossely, Group Vice President, Property Development addressed a group of nearly 200 retailers who have signed leases for locations in specific zones of the project. The presentation on the progress of the centre was highlighted by the announcement that 234 retail units located in the zones are ready for retail fitout, which is 30-60 days ahead of the originally scheduled handover date.

Commenting on the event Mr Rossely said, "We have achieved a goal that is unprecedented in this market. By handing over almost 50% of the retail space ahead of schedule we have passed the baton to our retail partners to accelerate their shop designs as we approach the opening of the centre on September 3rd. We are proud of the progress of our project team, particularly the contractors and consultants. This is a landmark project and we have a team of designers and co-ordinators working under the direction of Waleed Sleiman, our Manager of Tenant Projects ready to work with our retailers to deliver exciting store concepts."

A brief tour of the centre highlighting the progress on the project including the condition of the retail units and the impressive central galleria with a height of almost 40 metres concluded the breakfast meeting. A number of the larger retailers are already on-site and have commenced the construction of their stores. These include Carrefour, Debenhams, Centrepoint, Home Centre, Cinestar and Magic Planet.

Ashley Eide, Senior Retail Manager at the Rivoli Group said "I was very impressed by the progress on the project. The early handover of our retail units will allow us plenty of time to complete the design and construction by the opening day in September. We are definitely excited to be a part of this project as we believe it will set a new standard in the region."

The Mall of the Emirates is the flagship project of the Majid Al Futtaim Group. Along with Ski Dubai, one of the largest indoor ski facilities in the world the project will feature over 425 stores, 65 restaurants, a 14 screen Cinestar cinema, the regions largest Magic Planet Entertainment area, community theatre and arts centre, a Kempinski Hotel along with the largest Carrefour hypermarket in Dubai. Planned to open on September 3, 2005 this landmark project will re-define the retail and leisure experience both in the middle-east and worldwide.