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Deira Islands Night Souk to open by end of 2018

dubai - All of the souk's 5,300 outlets have already been leased

A traditional Arabian night market, the Deira Islands Night Souk, being built on Deira Islands, will be ready to receive shoppers and tourists by end 2018.

Ali Rashid Lootah, chairman of Nakheel, the developer of Deira Islands, said the souk's all 5,300 outlets spread along 1.9 kilometres of waterfront have already been leased. The souk will also feature 96 quayside cafés and restaurants.

The Night Souk, designed as a modern interpretation of the traditional Arabic souk, is set right next to Deira Mall on Deira Islands. The mall is billed as one of largest in the world with a 4.5 million square feet of gross leasable area.

Deira Islands is a four-island waterfront city. All four islands will feature hotels, resorts and residential, commercial and retail units.

Attractions will include the Deira Islands Mall, hotels, an amphitheatre for 30,000 people and marinas. More than 280,000 people are expected to eventually live there, and the projected number of new hotel rooms is 50,000. The project is expected to create 80,000 new jobs.

The night market and boardwalk will provide Deira islands with a retail destination for residents and tourists alike, Nakheel said.

Infrastructure work on the island project is ahead of schedule. The project will add 40km, including 21km of beachfront, to Dubai's coastline, and will contain hundreds of new hotels, serviced apartments and mixed-use buildings as well as extensive retail and leisure attractions.

In December 2016, a Dh150 million road bridge linking mainland Dubai with Deira Islands was opened. The bridge starts at Al Khaleej Road and leads to a Deira Islands A.

Last month, Nakheel issued tenders related to the design and build of six marinas that will be located in the development. The six marinas will be able to accommodate 600 yachts, including an unspecified number of super-yachts. One of the six marinas will be used to serve the Night Souk.

In January, Nakheel and Thai hotel group Centara Hotels and Resorts signed an agreement to create a 550-room, beachfront resort with waterpark on Deira Islands.

Nakheel's joint venture with Centara is the latest development in the company's expansion into Dubai's hospitality sector and its second international joint venture for Deira Islands. The first, an 800-room, Dh900 million all-inclusive resort and waterpark with Spain's RIU Hotels & Resorts, was confirmed in February 2016.

As the first Centara establishment in the UAE, the new resort will cover an area of 295,900 sq ft. Features include a waterpark, dining facilities, business centre, kids' club, spa and fitness centre. The resort is anticipated to have a soft opening in 2019 and grand opening in 2020.

Apart from Deira Mall, Deira Islands Night Souk and several marinas, Nakheel is building 16 residential towers, five hotels and two serviced apartment complexes at the development.

- issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com