Real Estate & Construction

Emporia Extra

Reem Mall

The Kuwait National Real Estate Company (KNREC) will begin construction in Abu Dhabi this year on its largest project to date, a megamall that will add to the Reem Island master development taking shape in the Emirate.

Years of delays since 2008 slowing progress of KNREC’s new retail development in Abu Dhabi have come to an end. Valued at $1 billion, KREC’s Reem Mall will be bringing a variety of shopping, dining, and entertainment options to one of Abu Dhabi’s most prime locations, Reem Island, a mixed-use island development that is expected to house over 200,000 residents in the years ahead as a major pillar of Abu Dhabi’s Urban Infrastructure Framework Plan 2030. Construction is set to commence this year in 2015 and at 2 million sqft, it’s KNREC’s largest project thus far.

The construction consultancy in charge of delivering the project is Mace, whose experience in retail developments in the UAE precedes it. Projects such as the Deira City Center malls, the Mirdiff City Center, the Mall of the Emirates, and the upcoming Khor Dubai are some of the company’s contributions to the local retail industry and infrastructure of the Emirates. For Abu Dhabi, the Reem Mall project being developed in partnership with the United Projects for Aviation Services Company (UPAC) follows along the same trend occurring in local real estate and construction developments, which is to create complete communities catering to the influx of people moving into the brand new, residential developments popping up on Reem Island, as well as Al Maryah Island, Saadiyat Island, Yas Island, and Lulu Island with a particular focus on family-oriented community development. In these mixed-use developments, commercial and office space is also a part of the mix and Reem Mall will serve that demographic as well. Affirming a current growth period in retail construction in Abu Dhabi, the $1 billion project is being designed and constructed at a time when additional malls—from the Tourism Development and Investment Company’s (TDIC) on Saadiyat Island to the Al Maryah Central—are adding to Abu Dhabi’s steadily expanding urban landscape.

With increasing transportation linkages planned, Reem Island is growing increasingly connected to the rest of the islands, some of the most prominent areas in Abu Dhabi. The Abu Dhabi metro is set to provide convenient access between Reem Island and Yas Island, Saadiyat Island, and the Abu Dhabi airport come 2016 and 2017 while Al Maryah island, Abu Dhabi’s blossoming financial district, and the Tourist Club area will also connect to Reem Island through four bridges planned to begin construction this year, as well.

In the context of Abu Dhabi’s infrastructure development plan, the NREC’s Reem Mall is positioned to be a valuable asset for both development stakeholders, residents of Reem Island, as well as the wider main island of Abu Dhabi. Its central location and growing transportation accessibility will bring Abu Dhabi closer to its Vision 2030 and after nearly a decade of delays, the long-awaited start of construction will further contribute to the high-value space being developed on Reem Island along with major developers Aldar, Tamouh, and Reem Investments. That the NREC, with over 40 years experience in the real estate and construction industry, has selected Abu Dhabi as the location for this megaproject also speaks to the valuable growth opportunities that exist in the Emirate, opportunities that are based on the long-term vision for the development of Abu Dhabi. With 2015 now established as the year construction of Reem Mall will begin, the journey has now begun as the NREC builds their largest project to date in Abu Dhabi.