Emaar Properties Dubai to build Dh10 bn ‘tech-embedded’ Square Mall

Emaar Properties Dubai to build Dh10 bn ‘tech-embedded’ Dubai Square Mall

Emaar Properties Dubai and Dubai Holding announce to building world’s first technology-embedded shopping mall at Dubai Creek Harbour. The mall named Dubai Square will also feature mixed-use commercial development including a 1,500-room hotel. According to the CEO of Emaar Properties, Mohammad Alabbar, the project will cost an estimated Dh10 billion ($2.7 bn).

The Dubai Square Mall will span across 750,000 Sq. m. and will be bigger than the The Dubai Mall. The proposed mall will have its own ‘Dubai OS’ operation system embedded into its wifi infrastructure to support retailers’ e-Commerce operations. Alabbar’s $1bn e-Commerce venture (noon.com) will play a significant role in the success of ‘Dubai OS’ enabling retailers to list their products on the website and allowing shoppers to purchase from Dubai Square. Moreover, Aramex (UAE base logistics firm) partly owned by Alabbar will also play an important role in delivering products as far as Egypt.

The Dubai Square mall is part of Dubai Creek Harbour masterplan which is intended to become the new heart of the emirate. The theme of Dubai Square is distinctive when compared to contemporary shopping malls, as it will give an impression of an indoor city, featuring streets, plazas and a glass roof.

The Dubai Creek Tower which is expected to be completed by 2020, will also be a significant addition to the Dubai Square Mall, in attracting the tourists. The Tower will comprise of 679 million sq.m. residential and leisure features including a 360 viewing deck ‘The Pinnacle Room’, and a VIP observation deck with landscaping meant to recreate the “splendour of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon”. It will also feature fully glazed rotating balconies that extend outward, rotating outside the skin of the tower, as well as it would house 851,000 sq.m. of commercial property, 22 hotels with 4,400 rooms and 11.1 million sq.m. of retail.

Alabbar aims to target 5-6 million transit passengers (nearly 10% – 75 million transiting passengers that pass through Dubai International Airport) to visit Dubai Square. Dubai Metro will transport travellers from airport to Dubai Square free of cost enabling transiting tourists to spend their layover time at the mall.

Tourism Impact in Dubai

UAE has successfully placed itself amongst the most popular tourist destinations at a global level. With ambitious developmental initiatives, high-quality projects robust infrastructure and high-end services have contributed to the success. According to the sources from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the tourism industry in UAE is currently valued at Dh72.6 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach Dh108.4 billion in the next 10 years. Dubai has a significant contribution to UAE’s tourism sector as it welcomed 15.7 million visitors by the end of 2017 which was a 6.2 per cent increase compared to the previous year.

The government of Dubai has planned over 50 large-scale government initiatives to boost its tourism growth. Some of the major initiatives include the development of malls, parks & resorts, entertainment and leisure avenues; providing on-arrival visas and 96-hour visas for transit passengers; developing healthcare infrastructure to promote medical tourism and increasing the capacity of hotels to accommodate tourists. With these initiatives Dubai expects 25 million visitors by 2020, providing an ideal platform for investors to invest in Dubai’s travel, tourism and hospitality sectors.

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