Local developer Nakheel has extended the tender closing date to 1 June for for the contract to build a mall on the Deira Islands development.

The previous deadline was 1 May.

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 June 2015, Nakheel awarded Van Oord of the Netherlands a two-year AED387m contract to deliver 23.5 km of coastline and breakwaters at Deira Islands.

For access to the island, the local/Belgian Bel Hasa Six Construct has been awarded a AED100m 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 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.

Nakheel has remained profitable despite the dampened outlook for Dubai’s property sector. Prices of residential prices have declined by 10 per cent in the first three months of 2016 compared with the same period last year, according to US consultancy JLL.

Nakheel recently said its first-quarter net income has risen 8 per cent.

Net profit reached AED1.47bn in the three-month period ending 31 March, climbing from AED1.35bn for the same period in 2015, according to a Nakheel statement, which did not specify revenues or other financial details.

It attributed the rise in profitability to hand over 536 units and “strong performance’’ of its retail, residential leasing and hospitality businesses.

“All of these businesses together contributed to the first-quarter results, which are in line with company forecasts,’’ the company said.