By E. Dickinson www.gulfbusiness.com
Dubai Holding’s gargantuan Mall of the World project is to be split into three separate shopping centres and built over stages in anticipation of an economic slump, the development’s chief operating officer has said.
Morgan Parker, who was appointed to manage project last year, has said it will now be built gradually as demand and funding allows.
The original $20bn plan was to build the world’s largest mall with 100 hotels surrounding it. However, falling oil prices, geopolitical instability and declining house values have provoked a project rethink, Parker told Bloomberg news.
The former Morgan Stanley and Macquarie Group banker said: “We are avoiding the biggest of this and tallest of that.
“Dubai is maturing as a city and investors are looking for rational projects. At the end of the day, the money is made by the tenants paying the rent and they are looking for projects that function.”
The development will still span a vast 9.15 million-square feet of retail space, combining a fashion district with street shops and traditional malls. More info
