IndiaRetailBiz

“On October 30, all public areas of The Dubai Mall will be open to customers at the same time, creating a retail event unlike anything ever seen in the region. The Dubai Aquarium and Discovery Centre, the Olympic-sized Dubai Ice Rink, the world’s largest indoor Gold Souk and hundreds of retailers will open simultaneously giving visitors several retail and leisure options.” — Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar Properties.

The Dubai Mall, the world’s premier lifestyle destination, has decided to open its doors to public in about two months on the the 30th October, 2008. The Dubai Mall– a shopping structure of epic proportions– located in the heart the prestigious Downtown Burj Dubai, will be one of the largest malls in the world, offering an over all space of 12.1 million sqft with gross internal floor area of 5.9 million sqft and gross leasable area of 3.77 million sqft.

The Dubai Mall– an integral part of the Downtown Burj Dubai development– has been dubbed as a shoppers’ paradise, as it will offer an unparalleled retail mix combined with world-class dining, entertainment and leisure attractions that will revolutionise the concept of the shopping mall experience. It will house two anchor department stores, over 120 food and beverage outlets and over 1,200 retail outlets.

Among its many attractions, The Dubai Mall will also have the world’s largest single volume Aquarium featuring a 180-degree walkthrough tunnel and the world’s largest indoor Gold Souk. There will be a Fashion Island, a 440,000 sq ft precinct dedicated to haute couture. There will also be a ‘Kidzania’– an  innovative children’s ‘edu-tainment’ concept and an 85,000 sq ft SEGA Entertainment Complex.

For the convenience of visiting shoppers, the mall has created spaces for parking of over 14,000 cars. For direct access of shoppers, the mall will have also have a dedicated bridge from Sheikh Zayed Road.

No wonder, “The Dubai Mall,” which happens to be a flgship property of the Emaar Malls Group, is expecting to attract a large number of customers in the very first year of trade.

The number of customers visiting the mall on an average may reach around one lakh (0.1 million) every day or over 30 million every year.

The opening date of the mall has been fixed so as to make it coincide with an extended retail season in the region. This period will be marked by the UAE National Day, Eid Al Adha, New Year and the Dubai Shopping Festival.