Contractors are preparing to submit bids on 1 May for the contract to build the mall on the Deira Islands development for local property developer Nakheel.

Once completed, the mall will be a 620,000 square metre retail, dining and entertainment hub for Deira Islands.

Singapore’s RSP is providing design and engineering services for the project.

Building work started on Deira Islands last year. In October, Nakheel awarded a AED1.17bn contract to the local United Engineering Construction (UNEC) for the Deira Islands Night Souq and Boardwalk.

The souq will stretch almost 2 kilometres along Deira Islands’ waterfront, and feature 5,300 shops and nearly 100 quayside cafes and restaurants. In June, Nakheel awarded Van Oord of the Netherlands a two-year AED387m ($105m) contract to deliver 23.5 kilometres of coastline and breakwaters at Deira Islands.

For access to the island, the local/Belgian Bel Hasa Six Construct has been awarded a AED100m ($27m) contract for additional work on the bridges connecting Nakheel’s Deira Islands development with the Deira corniche.

Retail is a key component of Nakheel’s business strategy. The developer says its retail project portfolio is expected to become the biggest in the UAE, with 10 new large-scale developments and a growing collection of community retail centres at various stages of development. In total these projects will add more than 10 million square feet of leasable retail space, adding to the 3.4 million sq ft already in operation at its Dragon Mart and Ibn Battuta Mall developments.