Dubai Festival City
دبي فستيفال سيتي | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 25°13′18.1″N 55°21′9.0″E / 25.221694°N 55.352500°E | |
Country | United Arab Emirates |
Emirate | Emirate of Dubai |
City | Dubai |
Inception | 2003 |
Area | |
• Total | 526 ha (1,300 acres) |
Population | |
• Total | 77,000[1] |
Time zone | UTC+4 (UAE) |
Website | dubaifestivalcity.com |
Dubai Festival City (Arabic: دبي فستيفال سيتي), also known as Al Kheeran (Arabic: الخيران), is a large residential, business and entertainment development in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, owned by Al-Futtaim Group. Administratively, it is part of Sector 4 and is located in the north-central area of Dubai.
Dubai Festival City is the Middle East's largest mixed-use development: elements for work, living, and leisure will be contained within the project. Once completed, Festival City will comprise a series of residential communities, numerous hotels, malls, a golf course and other entertainment sites, and a full suite of public services, including schools.
Construction of the development, which was undertaken by Al Futtaim Carillion,[2] began in 2003 and was expected to take 12 years. The project spans 3.8 kilometres (2.4 mi) of water frontage on the eastern bank of Dubai Creek and is 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) from Dubai International Airport. As of mid-2006, investments in the project had exceeded 11 billion AED (3 billion USD).[3]
The first phase of construction comprised over 14,500 m2 (156,077 sq ft) of façade roofs designed and built by Austrian specialist contractor Waagner Biro,[4] mainly over the crescent mall, festival square, oval court and knuckle. Within the development, Waagner Biro also constructed seven pavilions.[4] When completed, the development will cover a total area of 526 hectares (1,300 acres).[5]
The development includes two hotels including the InterContinental Dubai Festival City and a long-term stay serviced apartment complex, all managed by InterContinental Hotels Group. In July 2009, InterContinental took over management of the Al Badia Golf Course. Developments include the 400-room Four Seasons Hotel Dubai, but construction of both hotels was put on hold in January 2009 due to the global financial crisis of 2008–2009.[6]
The Festival Waterfront Centre is a shopping centre which includes IKEA, Carrefour (formerly a HyperPanda supermarket, the first hypermarket outside of Saudi Arabia[7]), and Ace Hardware.[8] Robinsons Department Store from Singapore opened inside Dubai Festival City Mall in March 2017.[9]
There is an Abra boat service across Dubai Creek between the Dubai Festival City Mall and the Al Jaddaf Marine Station, operated by the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), close to the Dubai Creek metro station on the Green Line of the Dubai Metro.[10][11]
A Dubai Festival City metro station on the Blue Line of the Dubai Metro is planned.[12]
Proposed services | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Preceding station | Dubai Metro | Following station | ||
Creek Terminus
|
Blue Line Creek branch Opening 2029
|
Dubai Creek Harbour towards Academic City
|