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Dubai conglomerate Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group (IMG Group) is committed to developing the Mall of Arabia retail complex within the next ten years, but has yet to establish a new construction schedule to revive the much-delayed project, a senior executive told reporters on Sunday.
"In three, five, seven to ten years you will basically see [Mall of Arabia] coming out of the ground," Mohamed Adnaan Oomer Sait, Group Chief Financial Officer at IMG Group, told reporters on the sidelines of a press event in Dubai to launch the group's IMG Worlds of Adventure theme park.
Mall of Arabia was billed as one of the largest shopping resorts in the world when it was launched in 2008 at the height of the Dubai property boom. The global financial crisis saw many projects in the emirate put on hold in the wave of a steep decline in property prices and the mall's 2010 opening date never materialised.
Part of the four million square foot City of Arabia multi-use project, Mall of Arabia is expected to include more than 1,000 retail outlets, a rooftop hotel and waterfront alfresco dining and entertainment area, according to IMG Group's official website.
Sait said no construction timeline is currently in place to develop the mall but it is part of the long-term development plans for the wider City of Arabia project. "Right now our focus is on the theme park. Once it is delivered out we have interesting growth plans for the entire City of Arabia," he said.
Mall of Arabia will compete with Emaar's The Dubai Mall, which was completed in 2008 and attracts around over 60 million visitors a year, and Dubai Holding's upcoming Mall of the World, which was announced in 2012 and will span a land area of 1.7 million square metres.
The IMG Group revealed on Sunday its IMG Worlds of Adventure theme park will open its doors to visitors on Monday, August 15, 2016. The 1.5 million square foot project will include over 20 signature rides and attractions, 25 retail stores and 28 food and beverage outlets across three zones, which include Cartoon Network, Marvel and the Lost Valley-Dinosaur Adventure.
The $1 billion entertainment complex is billed as the world's largest indoor theme park, will employ around 1,600 staff and is forecast to attract 4.5 million guests during its first year in operation.
© Zawya 2016
