Nakheel plans mall development at Dubai’s Nad Al Sheba

Dubai developer Nakheel is adding another mall to its Dh16 billion retail project portfolio, this time at Nad Al Sheba. Courtesy Nakheel

Nakheel plans to add to its stable of malls by opening one close to the home of horse racing in Dubai.

The property developer behind the emirate’s palm islands expects to add a 1.2 million square foot mall at its Nad Al Sheba Community, whose 1,500 villas the company is still building.

The consultancy AE7 is in charge of the design, engineering and construction supervision.

The Nad Al Sheba Mall, which will have 500,000 square feet of retail space, is expected to go out to tender in the fourth quarter.

When complete, it will house 200 shops, restaurants and entertainment outlets, including a supermarket, a multi-screen cinema, a medical centre and a fitness centre.

Nakheel’s retail project portfolio “will see the delivery of 13 million square feet of leasable space in the next three to five years, adding to the four million square feet already in operation,” said Ali Rashid Lootah, Nakheel’s chairman.

In the second quarter, three shopping malls came on stream – a Community Centre in International City, Ibn Battuta Mall Phase II and The Ribbon in Motor City – adding 30,000 square metres of leasable space. During the second half of the year, another 150,000 square metres of leasable space is expected to come to the market, according to JLL.

The property consultancy expects rents to continue falling for the rest of the year.

Nakheel owns Dragon Mart 1, Dragon Mart 2, Ibn Battuta Mall and Golden Mile Galleria, which have a total 4 million square feet of retail space. It has another 13 million square feet under development, including the Nad Al Sheba mall.

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