Arabian adventures

Lying at the gateway to Dubailand is the spectacular multi-billion dollar City of Arabia, a residential, retail, commercial and entertainment destination that is currently on track to open in 2011. In an exclusive interview, Syed Khalil, Group Executive Director of the Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group, explains how the development is shaping up.

The construction of City of Arabia is in full swing, and despite being plagued by planning problems, the development is reportedly now on course to begin phased opening in 2011. With businesses, schools, clinics, luxury apartments, shops, galleries, restaurants and multiple unique attractions, the developers of the City of Arabia, Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group, hope the city will become a key destination and vibrant urban community within Dubai.

The megaproject consists of four distinct elements, Mall of Arabia, one of the world’s largest malls; Restless Planet, a US$300 million theme park and earth science museum; Wadi Walk, a waterfront community with stylish apartments, outdoor cafes and attractive retail outlets; and Elite Towers, a collection of impressive commercial and residential buildings. As a self-contained community the project has been designed to minimise the use of cars and will be served by its own monorail system that will transport residents and visitors to and from a designated Dubai Metro station and around the site. With a total of 8200 residential components, City of Arabia will, on completion, have approximately 40,000 residents and a catchment area containing 1.87 million people.

Infrastructure progress
Due to planning issues the piling work that started on the mall back in 2006, was stopped until early 2008, meaning that the City of Arabia has suffered a series of delays and that the phased opening has been pushed back until 2011. However, since the contractors re-started construction there have been over 1000 people on-site working 24 hours a day. This means that the infrastructure itself is now nearly complete, including the sewage systems and power sub-stations, as well as several storm water drainage tanks to avoid on-site flooding. The transport infrastructure is also storming ahead: the bridges over the Wadi are already up and the main roads are now visible, although the final tarmac won’t be poured until the construction vehicles have left the site in order to avoid damage.

“We wanted to concentrate first on the underground delivery and the now Mall,” says Syed Khalil, Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari’s Group Executive Director. “We are building an entire city, not just a tower, so infrastructure has to come first.” And so it has. The caps are currently being put on the piling, and the columns and slabs are next on the list to be tackled.

The Mall of Arabia has seen many column inches, mainly due to its immense size. The mall has over 30 million square feet of gross leasable area, and a record number of friction piles – 9600 – have been drilled to secure the project. Thanks to the some clever design work the mall’s unique design, the radial grid, means it takes just 15 minutes to do one circle, despite being three times the size of the Mall of the Emirates. 

Beyond the mall, lies Restless Planet, a theme park and planetarium based on the Jurassic era. London’s Natural History Museum and Steven Spielberg have been brought in as advisors to ensure that there is a scene as close as possible to reality. Of the 110-animatronic dinosaurs, 50 have already come to life in Tokyo thanks to dinosaur expert Jack Horner, and are currently awaiting dispatch to the planetarium. While the planetarium will be the first of its kind in the world, the infrastructure will be a wonder in itself, comprising of a 246-foot tall dome and a 500,000 square foot ‘cloud’ building. The entrance will be via an enclosed glass bridge that connects to the Mall of Arabia’s second level.   

And work on the residential component, Wadi Walk, is also well underway, and will eventually feature as many as 1600 low-rise apartments and retail colonnades, with 1000 outlets and waterways. The meandering eight kilometre canal, the focal point of the development, will be kept to a deep blue colour and pristine quality by 11 water filtration plants sunk within the basement.

Phase one of Wadi Walk will include six retail zones, providing space for the 1000 outlets, as well as a range of international eateries. The development has been designed to restrict traffic flow, with cars and other vehicles diverted to the rear of the apartment buildings where there will be ample car parking. Visitors will be encouraged to cruise the waterway aboard water taxis or use the city’s monorail.

Meanwhile, the fourth component of the City of  Arabia, Elite Towers, will form an impressive group of high-rise buildings creating a dramatic skyline and a place for residential or corporate investment. Three towers are being developed by the Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group, Metro Tower, Wadi Tower and the I & M Tower, on which work has already begun, while the other 34 buildings within the complex will be built by sub-developers. While 22 towers have been held back for future development Khalil remains confident that around 50 percent of plots that have been sold will see the sub-developers start construction within the next six months and says that he expects completion in around three years from now.

Opening date
The Mall of Arabia is due to open in early 2011 along with the first phase of the Wadi Walk and the Restless Planet, two years behind its originally planned 2009 opening date, although Khalil doesn’t seem to think that this will be a problem for his clients, who he says will be happy that they will no longer be opening their shops during a economic meltdown, but rather when the situation has improved.

Indeed, Khalil believes that the current economic crisis could be a blessing in disguise for the company, in more ways than one. “It’s a difficult situation over all, but it has turned into an advantageous situation for us. When we were constructing earlier, costs were rising, contractors were not available and there were a lot of problems,” he explains. “Today it is the other way around, contractors are free, we are getting better prices and our construction costs have been trimmed down. The current situation will work to the advantage of the developer.

“Dubai offers a lifestyle that very few cities do and I feel confident that it will bounce back soon. But, projects won't be announced everyday as was the case earlier. A conservative, practical and pragmatic approach will prevail. Speculators will disappear from the market and the real investors will remain.”

Mall of Arabia
One of the world’s largest malls and a unique retail resort, Mall of Arabia will have a total gross leasable area (GLA) of 10 million sq ft. With more than 1400 diverse retail outlets and a rooftop hotel, it will also offer a wide range of other entertainment facilities, as well as waterfront alfresco dining.

Restless Planet
Featuring the world’s largest collection of animatronic dinosaurs and spanning more than 500,000 square feet, Restless Planet takes visitors back to prehistoric times. Combining science, state-of-the-art technology and thrilling entertainment, this unique visitor attraction boasts a collection of spectacular, themed rides, and provides accurate and authoritative knowledge of the Jurassic Age.

Wadi Walk
A vibrant, water front community consisting of 1600 stylish apartments, outdoor cafes and more than 1000 attractive retail outlets built alongside a meandering eight-kilometre canal. Tree-lined shady walkways will make it a popular place to stroll and relax.

Elite Towers
A collection of exclusive towers located in Dubailand, offering incredible views of City of Arabia and Dubai. Dedicated commercial and residential units provide all the amenities required to work and live comfortably and efficiently.

City of Arabia in numbers
10 million square feet of retail space in the mall
40,000 residents are expected to live in the City of Arabia
9600 friction piles have been drilled to secure the mall
2011 will see phased opening
1600 apartments in Wadi Walk
1000 workers have been on site 24 hours a day
110 animatronic dinosaurs will be featured in the Restless Planet
34 buildings will make up the Elite Towers development
8-kilometre canal will be the centrepiece of Wadi Walk