The opening date of Abu Dhabi’s $1 billion Reem Mall has been delayed by two years until 2020, according to its developer, Arabian Business reports.
The mall was designed by Dubai-based architecture and engineering firm Dewan.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Shane Eldstrom, chief executive officer, Reem Mall said they pushed back the opening date due to changes in designs and delays in getting authority approval.
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He added that they will award the main construction contract in the third or the fourth quarter of this year.
In July last year, the mall, developed by National Real Estate Company Kuwait (NREC) in partnership with Kuwait’s United Projects for Aviation Services Company (UPAC), named Al Futtaim Carillion as the preferred tenderer for the project.
Meanwhile, Reem Mall has signed up with Majid Al Futtaim Ventures, the leisure, entertainment, fashion and business arm of Majid Al Futtaim, to build the region’s first standalone indoor snow park.
The 125,000 square feet snow park will include a variety of activities from sledging to zorbing to luge, whilst the mall will also include VOX cinemas, fine dining Theatre by Rhodes and Magic Planet.
This is the second collaboration between Reem Mall and Majid Al Futtaim after previously signing a deal to open a Carrefour hypermarket at the mall, which is scheduled to be open in 2020.
Reem Mall will house 450 stores of which 85 will be food and beverage outlets. The mall’s total entertainment offerings make up almost 202,000 square feet, accounting for 10 percent of the total space.
Last year, Reem Mall was awarded the Estimada 2 Peal Rating by the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC), for exceeding the minimum mandatory sustainable design requirements set out by the initiative.