Tecom Investments is preparing to start handing over 2 million square feet of office space at its Dubai Design District (D3).

“Phase one of the project is on site,” Badr al-Gargawi, Tecom Investments’ chief executive officer – development and planning, told MEED on 21 September. “We will hand over 2 million square feet in six months, starting in the first quarter of 2015.”

An additional phase will be launched in October. The overall development covers a total area of 21 million square feet, close to Mohammed bin Rashid City and adjacent to Dubai’s Business Bay.

It has been designed primarily as a business zone, with office space for more than 10,000 workers in the design, fashion and luxury sectors, but also as a retail and entertainment district.

“We want this project to be a hub for design that is also a destination in itself,” says Al-Gargawi. “It will have a 1.8 kilometre-long waterfront with retail, hotels, entertainment and residential. It is an entire community, not just an office park.”

There will be more than 2.5 million square feet of shopping space, as well as luxury, four-star and boutique hotels and furnished apartments with more than 4,000 rooms.