New mega-mall planned for Abu Dhabi

A new multi-billion dollar shopping mall is planned for Abu Dhabi, boasting a whopping 214,000 square metres of retail and leisure space, UAE daily The National has reported. The AED 3.67 bln ($1 bln), will be built on Al Maryah Island, next to Mubadala Development's giant Sowwah Square office and designer shopping complex.

The mall will be constructed by Gulf Related, a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi-based Gulf Capital and US-based retail developer Related Companies, and is being marketed as ‘first super regional urban shopping centre’, the report added.

BLOOMINGDALES

Among the plans are 300 fashion shops, 80 cafes and restaurants, a cinema and two 20,000 square metre department stores, one of which is thought to be Bloomingdales.

Kenneth Himmel, the president and chief executive of Gulf Related said: "We don't want to over-leverage the project so the percentage of debt on this project will be somewhere in the 50 to 60%. So there's a very substantial amount of equity going into the project," he said. "We have put the final touches on our equity. We are in final negotiations on our bank financing,"

The mall is expected to open in 2017.