Dubai Festival City ( ar, دبي فستيفال سيتي) is a large residential, business and entertainment development in the city of
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
,
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
, owned by
Al-Futtaim Group
The Al-Futtaim Group ( ar, مجموعة الفطيم, Majmouat al-Futtaim) is a large conglomerate based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
History
The group was founded in the 1930s and expanded rapidly in the 1940s and 1950s becoming an integrate ...
. Dubai Festival City is the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
's largest mixed-use development: all 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
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
and other entertainment sites, and a full suite of public services, including schools.
Description
![Festival City Dubai](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Festival_City_Dubai.jpg)
Construction of the development, which was undertaken by
Al Futtaim Carillion
Carillion plc was a British multinational construction and facilities management services company headquartered in Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom, prior to its liquidation in January 2018.
Carillion was created in July 1999, following a ...
, began in 2003 and was expected to take 12 years. The project spans of water frontage on the eastern bank of
Dubai Creek
Dubai Creek ( ar, خور دبي, Khūr Dubay) has been described as a natural saltwater creek, tidal inlet, and watercourse or waterway in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). It extends about inwards and forms a natural port that has traditional ...
and is from
Dubai International Airport
Dubai International Airport ( ar, مطار دبي الدولي) is the primary international airport serving Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the world's busiest airport by international passenger traffic. It is also the nineteenth-busies ...
. As of mid-2006, investments in the project had exceeded 11 billion
AED (3 billion
USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
).
The first phase of construction comprised over of
façade
A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'.
In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...
roofs designed and built by Austrian specialist contractor
Waagner Biro,
mainly over the crescent mall, festival square, oval court and knuckle. Within the development,
Waagner Biro also constructed seven pavilions.
Hotels
The development includes two hotels including the
InterContinental Dubai Festival City
InterContinental Dubai Festival City is a luxury five-star hotel in Dubai Festival City, United Arab Emirates, operated by IHG Hotels & Resorts. It is located on the Dubai Creek, adjoining the Dubai Festival City Mall, opposite the Mohammed Bi ...
and a long-term stay serviced apartment complex, all managed by
InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), marketed as IHG Hotels & Resorts, is a British multinational hospitality company headquartered in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the F ...
. 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
Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to:
Entertainment
* Global (Paul van Dyk album), ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003
* Global (Bunji Garlin album), ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007
* Global (Humanoid album), ''Gl ...
.
Dubai Festival City Mall
![Dubai Festival City Mall from the marina, Dubai](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Dubai_Festival_City_Mall_from_the_marina%2C_Dubai.jpg)
The Festival Waterfront Centre, is a retail
power centre which includes
IKEA
IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...
,
HyperPanda supermarket (first hypermarket outside of Saudi Arabia, which has now been replaced with a
Carrefour
Carrefour () is a French multinational retail and wholesaling corporation headquartered in Massy, France. The eighth-largest retailer in the world by revenue, it operates a chain of hypermarkets, groceries stores and convenience stores, which ...
supermarket) and
Ace Hardware
Ace Hardware Corporation is an American hardware retailers' cooperative based in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States. It is the world's largest hardware retail cooperative, and the largest non-grocery American retail cooperative.
Founded in 1924 ...
.
Robinsons Department Store from Singapore opened inside Dubai Festival City Mall in March 2017.
Transport
There is an
Abra boat service across
Dubai Creek
Dubai Creek ( ar, خور دبي, Khūr Dubay) has been described as a natural saltwater creek, tidal inlet, and watercourse or waterway in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). It extends about inwards and forms a natural port that has traditional ...
between the Dubai Festival City Mall and the
Al Jaddaf Marine Station
Creek (aka Dubai Creek, ar, الخور) is a rapid transit station on the Green Line of the Dubai Metro in Dubai, UAE. It serves as the western terminus of the line.
The station officially opened on 1 March 2014. The Green Line was initially des ...
, close to the
Dubai Creek metro station on the
green Line of the
Dubai Metro
The Dubai Metro is a rapid transit rail network in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is currently operated by the French company Keolis. The Red Line and Green Line are operational, with a major 15 km (9.3 mi) extension to the Red L ...
. This is operated by the Dubai
Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
See also
*
Tourism in Dubai
Dubai is one of the world's leading tourism destinations and tourism in Dubai is a major source of revenue. The city hosted 14.9 million overnight visitors in 2016. In 2018, Dubai was the fourth most-visited city in the world based on the number ...
References
External links
Dubai Festival City website
{{Dubai topics
Buildings and structures in Dubai
Geography of Dubai
Mixed-use developments in the United Arab Emirates