by Kasun Illankoon
Following its ground-breaking in March 2017, the mall is planned to open in the fourth quarter of 2019, the company said in a statement. The substructure of the mall is complete with the only thing remaining being the construction of the superstructure.
Timothy Earnest, group director Retail Malls at Al Futtaim said: “With our sights keenly fixed on the future development of Dubai and our confidence in the growth potential during the build up to Expo 2020, we see Festival Plaza becoming a major urban lifestyle destination.
According to Oguz Stackpole, the leasing GM, currently the mall has secured an estimated 84% of retailers.
The mall is set to have 64,800m² of leasable space, 100 shops, a food court, a Lulu hypermarket, entertainment units, and café-style dining options. Two of the biggest announcements so far have been a concept store each for Ikea and Al Futtaim ACE. Ikea, which will take up 30,000 meter squares and will be expected to have 4 million footfall which will lend a significant hand in making the plaza profitable.