Dubai Mall opens its doors to public with 600 retail outlets

Dubai Mall yesterday opened its doors to the public with 600 of the planned 1,200 retail units, even as officials announced that the facility would be fully operational by the end of 2009.

Although only 50 per cent of the retails units opened for business yesterday it still marked the world's largest-ever single-day mall opening in retail history.

Hundreds of workers were seen cleaning the walls and making final preparations yesterday morning for the mid-day opening.

According to senior officials, it took almost 137 million man-hours until date ever since the piling work began in May 2004.

Yousif Al Ali, General Manager, The Dubai Mall said, every element of the mall was carefully planned and would meet the best world standards.

"Starting from the security system to the width of the corridors, each and everything was carefully thought after. The corridors were deliberately widened to cater to the needs of large families – a common feature among Arabs," said Al Ali.

Spread over 12 million square feet, equivalent in size to more than 50 football pitches, The Dubai Mall is the development of Emaar Malls Group, the shopping malls subsidiary of developer Emaar Properties.

"With The Dubai Mall, what matters is not the size but the qualitative difference that we offer to our visitors. We are geared up to cater for the key retail, tourist and festive periods marked by the UAE National Day, Eid Al Adha, New Year and the Dubai Shopping Festival," added Al Ali.

The mall features a sprawling Gold Souk, the Olympic-sized Dubai Ice Rink and the Fashion Catwalk atrium besides the Dubai Aquarium and Discovery Centre, which entered the Guinness World Record for the world's largest acrylic panel.

Damien Prendergast, General Manager, Dubai Aquarium and Discovery Centre, said the facility features a 270-degree walkthrough tunnel holding 10 million litres of water and housing 33,000 living animals including sharks and rays.

"Every week we would require about 700 kilograms of food to feed the fish and sharks. The annual maintenance of the facility would itself amount to Dh4 million," said Prendergast.

A special "lunar-cyclic" lighting system changes the ambience of the tank depending on the time of day.

Dubai Aquarium's 270-degree glass walkthrough tunnel makes for incredible close-encounter experiences.

"Certified divers will also be able to dive in the aquarium," he added. The facility is developed and operated by the Oceanis Australia Group.

With the Roads and Transport Authority readying several access roads to the new mall, apart from 14,000 spaces for parking across three car parks, valet services and a car locator ticketing system, authorities are hoping for a smooth traffic flow to and from the mall.

Visitors can reach The Dubai Mall through multiple access roads from Sheikh Zayed Road, Financial Centre Road (previously called Doha Road), Emaar Boulevard, Downtown Burj Dubai, the newly opened bridge off Interchange One and through a direct access road near Emaar Square off Sheikh Zayed Road.