City of Arabia, the spectacular $5 billion retail, residential, commercial and entertainment destination taking shape in Dubai, announced today that phase one of its Mall of Arabia component is now 89 per cent contracted and reserved.

The mall offers four million square feet of gross leasable area (GLA) in the first phase.

The announcement was made by Ilyas & Mustafa Galadari Group, owners of City of Arabia, ahead of the RLI Global Opportunities Conference: Embracing Global Retail, taking place on Wednesday and Thursday (June 11-12 ) at Wembley Stadium, London.

City of Arabia is the platinum sponsor of the retail industry event which will provide Mall of Arabia with valuable exposure to retail industry leaders and decision-makers, said a statement.

With a six million square feet second phase giving it a total GLA of ten million square
feet, it will be one of the world’s largest malls and a unique retail resort, with more than 1,400 diverse retail outlets, a rooftop hotel, and a unique theme park and edutainment centre, ‘Restless Planet’, featuring the world’s largest collection of animatronic dinosaurs.

Between them, Landmark Group and Azadea Group have signed up for a total of more than 800,000 sq ft of retail space in Mall of Arabia’s first phase.

Currently operating over 600 stores across the Middle East and India, Landmark Group has signed a lease agreement for 500,000 sq ft that will feature retail brands like Centrepoint, Home Centre, as well as a range of line shops including name like kappa, Reiss, Bata, Lee Cooper, Koton, aftershock, New look, Ecco, Max, Emax, Pablosky, Theme, Lewre, Valenica, Shelleys and Orchestra. Landmark Group also has plans to develop a family entertainment centre concept at Mall of Arabia.

Azadea Group, which operates over 250 stores across the Middle East and plans over 500 additional shops through the next three years, has taken in excess of 300,000 sq ft.

Set to open 95 new stores in 2008 alone, the group has an expanding portfolio of high profile brands, including Piazza Italia, Sunglass Hut, Salsa Jeans, Cool Cat, Virgin Megastore, Massimo Dutti, Zara, and Zara Home.

“We’re right on track,” said Myra Searle, senior vice-president for retail, Mall of Arabia. “To have secured commitment to such a considerable amount of GLA at this stage with such notable players as Landmark and Azadea shows how much confidence exists in Mall of Arabia as one of the most significant shopping and leisure destinations in the region.”

Integral infrastructure works have been completed on the 20 million sq ft City of Arabia site, which is at the gateway to Dubailand, the world’s most ambitious tourism, leisure and entertainment project, catering to the needs of the entire family.  – TradeArabia News Service