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The main building contract for a US$1 billion shopping centre on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi is set to be awarded in May, the property developer Gulf Related said yesterday.
Gulf Related, a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi-based Gulf Capital and US-based retail developer Related Companies, said work on the 214,000 square metre mega-mall next to the newly renamed Abu Dhabi Global Market Square would start in August.
In its latest edition, the business news publication Meed reported that Gulf Related has shortlisted Alec, an offshoot of Abu Dhabi's Al Jaber Group, and Canada's Brookfield Multiplex to build the vast shopping complex.
It said that five bids had been submitted in January from contractors also including Al Futtaim Carillion, Arabian Construction Company, Six Construct and Oger Abu Dhabi.
A Gulf Related spokesman declined to comment on the report.
"We are talking to a number of parties at the moment and we will be narrowing this down over the course of the next six to eight weeks and appointing a main contractor in May," he told The National yesterday.
The Gulf Related spokesman said that the Elkus Manfredi- designed mall is scheduled to open early in 2018.
The mall will include the US department stores Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s as well as 300 fashion retailers, 80 cafes and restaurants, and a cinema.
The complex will also include two 40-storey towers located at opposite ends of the mall, the first of which is likely to include apartments and serviced apartments, and a second comprising a 200-330 room hotel. Neither tower will be included in the main contract.
Gulf Related added that the German contractor Bauer was working on site excavations at the project after commencing work in January. Gulf Related hopes to award a second contract for piling work in May.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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