Thursday, Jun 28, 2012
Dubai Nakheel announced yesterday that it is planning the construction of a Dh1 billion extension of Dragon Mart that will double the shopping mall’s size, the company chairman announced yesterday.
Construction of the 177,000-square metre retail space is expected to begin shortly after “regulatory approvals” are granted, said Ali Rashid Lootah, Chairman of Nakheel at a press conference yesterday.
Nakheel has awarded contracts worth Dh600 million for Dragon Mart Phase 2, he said. United Engineering Construction (UNEC) will construct the new retail mall. Kele Contracting was awarded the construction of the three-star 240-room Dragon Mart hotel and multi-storey parking lot for 2,000 vehicles.
The project is scheduled for completion by the third quarter of 2013, according to Lootah.
Dragon Mart 2 has already pre-let 80 per cent of its available leasing space.
Asked about funding for the project, Lootah said there is a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreement with the project developer New Mall Limited. The transfer will be due in nine years.
The new extension will bring the total size of Dragon Mart to 335,000 square meters or the equivalent of 47 international football pitches, Nakheel said in a statement.
The project is “proof of [Nakheel’s] commitment to continued delivery of new and existing projects,” Lootah said in the statement.
The announcement comes after the troubled master developer earned profit in the first quarter of 2012.
The Dragon Mart Phase 2 is the latest in a number of retail projects that Nakheel announced in recent months including the Dh223 million luxury Palma Residences and studio apartments Palm Views, both on the Palm Jumeirah.
Dragon Mart Phase 2 will include Geant, a nine-screen Grand Cinema complex, a two-storey retail mall with a food court.
By Deena Kamel Yousef Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2012. All rights reserved.
