Contractors are preparing to submit bids on 30 October for the estimated $1bn contract to build a mall for local developer Nakheel on its Deira Islands development.

The mall, once completed, will be a 620,000-square-metre retail, dining and entertainment hub for Deira Islands. It is the largest building scheme to be tendered in Dubai so far this year.

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 ($319m) deal to the local United Engineering Construction (UNEC) for the 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 August, Nakheel awarded a AED1.5bn ($400m) construction contract to the local Dhabi Contracting to build its Al-Khail Avenue mall in Dubai.

The 360,000-square-metre retail, dining and entertainment centre is being developed in the Jumeirah Village Triangle area of Dubai, alongside Al-Khail Road.

Construction work is set to start in October with completion expected in 2019.

Nakheel also recently appointed US firm AE7 to design its new retail centre in the Nad al-Sheba area of Dubai.

Nad al-Sheba Mall will be 1.2 million square foot shopping, dining and entertainment hub with 500,000 sq ft of retail space. A construction tender is expected to be released in the fourth quarter of this year 2016.

Retail is a key component of Nakheel’s business strategy. The developer says its retail scheme 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.