Master developer Nakheel has awarded a Dh4.2-billion ($1.14 billion) contract to United Engineering Construction for building its ambitious Deira Mall, the biggest shopping, dining and entertainment destination  in terms of retail space in Dubai, UAE.

The construction will begin in the third quarter of this year, with completion set for 2020, said a statement from the Dubai developer.

With a total built-up area of 10.3 million sq ft, including a 3.8-million-sq-ft multi-storey car-park with 8,400 spaces, the Dh6.1-billion ($1.66 billion) Deira Mall will feature over 1,000 shops, cafes, restaurants and entertainment outlets across three floors.

The state-of-the-art development will boast a retractable roof, bringing natural light into the complex and allowing open-air shopping in cooler months, it stated.

With four million sq ft of leasable area, Deira Mall will be the biggest in Dubai in terms of shop space.  

It will be located on a four-million-sq-ft site, where vibro-compaction work is under way, at the heart of Deira Islands, Nakheel’s new, 15.3-sq-km waterfront city that is part of Dubai’s 2021 vision.

The four-island development, which will transform the area traditionally known as ‘Old Dubai’ into a world-class retail, tourism, living and leisure hub, will be home to more than 250,000 people when complete.

Deira Mall will be the centrepiece of Deira Boulevard, a new Dh5-billion ($1.36 billion) Nakheel community with 16 residential towers, nearly 3,000 apartments and extensive retail, restaurant and recreation space.

Together, Deira Mall and Boulevard will have 4.5 million sq ft of shop space. A construction tender for Deira Boulevard was released in January this year.

Deira Mall is one of two large-scale retail projects by Nakheel Malls at Deira Islands. The other, Deira Islands Night Souk, is set to become the world’s largest night market, with 5,300 shops and almost 100 quayside cafes and restaurants.

According to Nakheel, construction is in full swing, with the project due for completion in 2018. All units at the Night Souk are fully leased, it stated.

Deira Islands will add 40 km, including 21 km of beachfront, to Dubai’s coastline and pave the way for hundreds of tourism, leisure and residential developments including hotels, resorts, serviced apartments, mixed-use buildings and waterside homes, said the Nakheel statement.

Nakheel has signed joint venture partnerships with Spain’s RIU Hotels & Resorts and Thailand’s Centara Hotels and Resorts to create two beachfront resorts at the islands, with more hotel deals on the way, it added.-TradeArabia News Service