Dubai Mall to become even bigger

Emaar Properties has announced an ambitious expansion of its flagship asset, The Dubai Mall, to add over one million square feet to the existing 12 million square feet.

The expansion to the mall, which had more than 54 million visitors in 2011, is expected to take The Dubai Mall and Downtown Dubai into the next era in retailing, entertainment and lifestyle.

The addition will include new hotel rooms as well as entertainment and lifestyle choices. The Dubai Mall currently has over 1,200 stores and 160 F'&'B outlets. This will be further strengthened with several additions and extensions to its retail spread.

Last week, the global building database Emporis ranked Dubai Mall as the ninth largest shopping mall in the world with gross leaseable area of 3,769,995 square feet. New South China Mall Dongguan, China is said to be the world’s largest with 6,459,993 square feet of gross leaseable area, Chicago Tribune said quoting Emporis.

Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar Properties, said: "Dubai Mall is a powerful demonstration of the competencies that Emaar has developed in retail, regarded as one of the core sectors of Dubai's economy. Our contribution builds on the strategic vision and development goals outlined by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

He explained that the expansion is in line with the continuous evolution in customer expectations and aspirations. "Just as the expectations of customers are changing, the retailing sector is also witnessing rapid shifts. Through our expansion programme, we will use the most advanced technologies to offer an integrated mix of retail and entertainment that will meet the requirements of our visitors."

Emaar recently launched a project to build a 820-metre long pedestrian link that directly connects the Burj Khalifa/The Dubai Mall Metro Station with the mall, scheduled to be operational in 2013.

"The overall expansion programme will not only consolidate The Dubai Mall as the most visited shopping and tourism centre but will also establish Downtown Dubai as the most desirable lifestyle destination in the world," said Alabbar.

The world’s top 10 shopping malls by gross leaseable area (Source: Emporis):

1 New South China Mall Dongguan, China 600,153 square meter

2 Golden Resources Mall Beijing, China 557,419 square meter

3 SM City North Edsa Quezon City, Philippines 482,878 square meter

4 1 Utama Selangor, Malaysia 465,000 square meter

5 CentralWorld Bangkok, Thailand 429,500 square meter

6 Persian Gulf Complex Shiraz, Iran 420,000 square meter

~ Mid Valley Megamall Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 420,000 square meter

~ Cehavir Mall Istanbul, Turkey 420,000 square meter

9 The Dubai Mall Dubai, UAE 350,244 square meter

10 West Edmonton Mall Edmonton, Canada 350,000 square meter

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