Dubai-based Majid Al-Futtaim Properties (MAF Properties) has signed a deal with hotel operator Hilton Worldwide to open a Hilton Garden Inn-branded property near the Mall of the Emirates.

The 370-room Garden Inn Mall of the Emirates will include a fitness centre, two food and beverage outlets, an outdoor pool, business centre and meeting rooms. Hilton said the hotel will be the third of its mid-range Garden Inn-branded properties to open in Dubai.

“This agreement establishes an important milestone for Majid al-Futtaim as it celebrates a new relationship with Hilton Worldwide,” said George Kostas, CEO of MAF Properties. “It also marks the commencement of our tenth hotel here in Dubai.”  

In February, MAF Properties announced plans to add 25,000 square metres of gross leasable area to the Mall of the Emirates as part of phase two of a $1bn multistage redevelopment project for the mall.

The company is also preparing to invite contractors to bid for the estimated AED150m ($41m) contract to build its new shopping mall at Dubai’s International Media Production Zone (IMPZ). The project, which is MAF Properties’ first community mall in Dubai, is part of the developer’s plans to double the size of its retail malls by 2018.