EC Harris assists with delivery of flagship IKEA store at Doha Festival City

Situated on the outskirts of Doha, the grand opening of the 344,000 sq. ft IKEA was on 11 March.

EC Harris worked closely with the client, Bawabat Al Shamal Real Estate Company (BASREC), managing all commercial issues throughout the design, tender and construction process to deliver the QAR300m project on budget. The project was completed in just over 12 months and was voted "Commercial Project of the Year" at the Qatar Construction Week Awards in September 2012.

Speaking about the project, Derek Roy, Project Director on Doha Festival City and Partner, EC Harris said, "IKEA is iconic in the retail landscape of Doha and we are pleased to have been part of such a high profile project. We look forward to working with BASREC on delivering the next phases of the development."

Speaking about EC Harris's involvement in the project, Kareem Shamma, CEO, BASREC said, "The delivery of the IKEA store is a milestone in the Doha Festival City development. EC Harris's experience of delivering retail in the Middle East was invaluable in delivering the project on time and budget."

Greg Douglas, Development Director at Al Futtaim Group Real Estate (AFGRE) added, "The success of this project can be attributed to the close working relationship between AFGRE, EC Harris, BASREC and the whole project team. Doha Festival City is a significant development for Doha and for the community."

EC Harris has worked on over nine million sq ft of retail space in the Middle East, and brings a wealth of experience in delivering major shopping malls in the MENA region. Some of the projects the company has previously helped to deliver include the Mirdif City Centre development in Dubai, the Bloomingdales store in Dubai Mall and the Al Wahda shopping mall in Abu Dhabi.

Due for completion in 2016, Doha Festival City shopping mall will span over 3.6 million sq ft, with 2.9 million sq ft set aside for retail space. The development will feature a 715,000 sq ft entertainment and leisure complex, a supermarket and other major international and local brand tenants as well as hotels and conference facilities.

Key parties involved: Al Futtaim Group Real Estate (AFGRE) - Development Manager; MACE - Project Managers; Contractor - QACC / Amana Joint Venture; and BSBG - Designers, AEB - Supervising Engineer.