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WORLD> Middle East
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Mega shopping mall opens in Dubai despite global economic gloom
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-05 07:41 DUBAI – A mega shopping centre opened for business in the bustling Gulf emirate of Dubai on Tuesday amid doubts about the success of the venture at a time of worldwide economic turmoil.
Hundreds of people crowded the entrance to Dubai Mall, whose projected 1,200 stores and scores of entertainment outlets are billed as the biggest shopping centre in the Middle East and one of the largest in the world. Only half the stores listed to set up shop in the mall were open on Tuesday, with some of the big retail names due to kick off much later. "I'm excited to be here at the opening of the mall," Bilal Dahmush, a Syrian sales agent in a a men's clothes shop said. "It is the most beautiful mall in Dubai and it will oushine all other malls" in the city state, which already boasts a large number of giant shopping centres, said his compatriot and colleague Ahmad Hammam. The mall is situated at the foot of Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower) -- already the tallest building on earth at around 700 meters (2,300 feet) and still under construction. The mall is scheduled to house branches of some of the world's best known retail chains, such as Marks and Spencer, Galeries Lafayette and even Bloomingdales, which has never before had stores outside the United States. However, the inauguration has been repeatedly delayed. The centre was initially supposed to open by the end of 2006, but the date was postponed to August 2008, then to October 30 and finally to November 4. Bloomingdales is not scheduled to open until 2010 and Galeries Lafayette is earmarked for next February, according to the mall's website. The mall's other attractions include a gold souk, a 10-million litre (2.2 million gallon) aquarium and an Olympic-size ice rink. Project owner Emaar Malls, a subsidiary of the giant Dubai-based property developer Emaar, is optimistic about the viability of the shopping centre, which is part of a 20-billion-dollar project. The wealthy governments of the Gulf region remain confident that their economies will weather the global economic crisis and have stepped in to provide liquidity assurances to banks and financial institutions, amid huge losses on their stock markets. But some economists have questioned whether the developers of Dubai Mall can meet their target of 30 million visitors in the first year amid the global economic gloom. Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, is renowned for grandiose and often extravagant projects, including a series of man-made islands. In September, it launched a huge water-themed resort billed as unique in the Middle East. |
