Ibn Battuta Mall gets 150 shops

Nakheel, a Dubai-based master developer, is finally going to start work on the expansion of its flagship Ibn Battuta Mall.

The developer on Sunday issued a tender, seeking contractors to undertake work on construction of new expansion with associated underground services and modification of existing services to connect to the new expansion.

The new expansion will see the mall adding 28,000 square metre total retail area, with leasable space of 17,000 square metres, thus adding 150 new shops to the existing Ibn Battuta complex. Currently, the mall has more than 270 shops, 50 restaurants, a 21-screen cinema and over 4,500 parking spaces.

The expansion will be directly linked to the existing mall and within a few metres of Ibn Battuta Metro station.

The tender document(s) can be obtained upon submission of non-refundable tender fee of Dh50,000 and a copy of tenderer’s valid trade license, starting May 26.

The final submission date is July 7.

Company CEO Sanjay Manchanda had told Emirates 24|7 in January that expansion of Ibn Battuta Mall was on cards.

The mall, completed in 2005, is themed on the journeys of Ibn Battuta, the 14th Century Arabic explorer, with each region – Andalusia, Tunisia, Egypt, Persia, India and China –reflected in the architecture and theme of the mall’s six courts.

It has a site area is 5.58 million square feet and built up area is 1.22 million square feet.

The strong recovery in the tourism sector is driving the developer to focus more on mall development. It said earlier that it will open the Dh2.5-billion Nakheel Mall on Palm Jumeirah in 2016. Contracts are likely to be awarded by middle of the year.

Although no details on Ibn Battuta expansion have been revealed, Nakheel Mall will have a gross floor area of 424,000 square metres, including five retail levels and three basement parking levels with 4,000 parking bays.

The developer has already awarded construction contracts worth Dh600 million for the Dragon Mart Phase 2, which will add 177,000 square metres to the existing mall, bringing the total size to 335,000 square metres.

Contracts for construction of community centres in Jumeirah Park and Discovery Gardens have been issued.

Dubai has retained its position as the second most important international retail destination globally, with London continuing to hold the top position, according to CBRE, a global property consultancy.

It said the emirate was ranked among the world's top five "hot markets" in 2012 and remains the highest ranked target market for new retailers.

Although Emaar Properties has announced expansion on Dubai Mall, plans have been revealed to build the “Mall of the World”, the world’s largest mall that will be part of Mohammed Bin Rashid City.

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