Funding boost for Qatar mall projects

Doha Festival City, located 15km north of downtown Doha on Al Shamal Road, will include a fully-serviced shopping centre, an indoor-outdoor entertainment park, automotive zone, two international hotels and green zones

By Pratap John/Chief Business Reporter

Two world-scale mall projects in Qatar have got a boost with some local banks completing multi-billion financing deals, which are structured as Shariah-compliant financing packages. 
The two iconic malls are Doha Festival City, which is expected to cost QR6bn, and Northgate Mall (expected  cost: QR1.5bn).
Banks in Qatar recently completed the funding packages for the two mall developments in Doha totalling QR2.5bn, journal Meed said.
The financing is split between a QR1.5bn 12-year project finance loan for the Doha Festival City project and a QR1bn 10-year loan for Northgate Mall. 
Both deals were finalised during the summer by a group of around four or five local banks lending exclusively in Qatari riyals, Meed said. The two malls are now under construction.
Doha Festival City will include a retail centre, an entertainment park and two hotels. 
The first phase of the project is the retail complex, which is scheduled to open in 2012, and the next two phases are due to be completed by 2015.
Doha Festival City is located 15km north of downtown Doha on Al Shamal Road, one of the main arterial routes to the city centre, which will connect Doha with Bahrain via the Friendship Bridge. With its strategic positioning, the mega-complex is ideally equipped to meet the retail and entertainment needs of not only Qatar but also neighbouring GCC countries.
The project will include a fully-serviced shopping centre, an indoor-outdoor entertainment park, automotive zone, two international hotels and “green zones”.
Along with Swedish furnishing giant IKEA, other brands from Al-Futtaim Group already confirmed as Doha Festival City’s anchor tenants are ACE, Toys “R” Us, Marks & Spencer and Intersport. 
Landmark Group’s brands such as Centrepoint, Max Fashion, Sports Authority, Fitness First, Home Centre and Iconic have also joined the retail mix. 
Robinson’s, the 153-year old department store and an integral piece of Singapore’s history, will be part of Doha Festival City offerings.
UK-based Mace International is the project manager. Bawabat al-Shamal is the parent company behind the project and has supplied the land, Meed said. Its shareholders include the UAE’s Al-Futtaim Group and Qatar Islamic bank.
The complex’s futuristic design separates each individual area into its own uniquely identified space that will transport guests from the world of waterslides and roller coasters into a retail area populated with diverse international brands.
The Northgate Mall, which is coming up at Al-Khertiyat on the North Road, will include office buildings, cinema, food and beverage spaces and a high-end retail area covering an area of 417,500sq.mts. 
Local developer Equinox is the project sponsor. The  mall has been designed by the US-based architecture firm Callison. The consultant for the project is the local office of Lebanon’s Associated Consulting Engineers, Meed said.

Source:-

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