Abu Dhabi’s US$1 billion (Dh3.67bn) Reem Mall looks likely to be built by Al Futtaim Carillion after it was named as preferred bidder for the project.
The developer behind Reem Mall said that it will now enter into detailed contract negotiations with Al Futtaim Carillion “with the objective of finalising an agreement to promptly execute the remaining works”.
Reem Mall is being developed by Al Farwaniya Property Development – a partnership between Kuwaiti firms National Real Estate Company (NREC) and United Projects for Aviation Services Company (UPAC), which agreed a $224m investment into the project last year.
Concept designs for the mall were approved by Abu Dhabi's Urban Planning Council in January this year, and final approval for the project was granted earlier this month. Enabling works are already being completed by Abu Dhabi-based engineering firm Dutch Foundation, and the mall is due to complete in 2018.
Shane Eldstrom, the chief operating officer for Reem Mall, said that Al Futtaim Carillion had been chosen because of its track record in delivering quality projects in the region. It has worked on both the Dubai Mall for Emaar Properties and the Deira City Centre Mall for Majid Al Futtaim Group.
“We look forward to successfully completing the tendering process,” said Mr Eldstrom.
Andrew Ridley-Barker, the managing director of Al Futtaim Carillion, added: “We hope to have the process concluded shortly and deliver this important retail project to the people of Abu Dhabi.”
Dutch Foundation has already removed more than 7 million cubic feet of material from the site, and is removing 84,000 cubic feet of water per day as part of the site’s dewatering process.
“Dutch Foundation’s works are paving the way for a quick and efficient start of the next stage of construction,” said Mr Eldstrom.
Once complete, Reem Mall will house 2 million square feet of leasable space and have about 450 stores, including 85 food and beverage outlets. It will also house the world's biggest indoor snow play park. It will open within months after Gulf Related completes its $1bn Al Maryah Central shopping mall on the neighbouring Al Maryah Island. That is being built by Brookfield Multiplex under a $425m construction contract.
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Results
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
World Sevens Series standing after Dubai
1. South Africa
2. New Zealand
3. England
4. Fiji
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7. Kenya
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Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
