Dubai Mall uses more steel than Eiffel Tower

More than 13,550 tonnes of structural steel have been deployed to date at the Dubai Mall, said the general manager of Emaar Malls Group.

"As of August, this alone adds up to more than the total amount of steel used in the Eiffel Tower in Paris (7,300 tonnes)," said Yousif Al Ali, General Manager, Emaar Malls Group.

Managing manpower and materials were two of the many challenges during the construction of the Dubai Mall. "The challenge in undertaking any development characterised by a large size and scale is to manage manpower and materials. For Dubai Mall, too, managing thousands of workers and the several hundred tonnes of construction materials in time was the key challenge," Ali said.

The Dubai Mall, one of the world's largest shopping malls, is undergoing finishing touches before its opening on October 30. Sprawling over a area of 12.1 million sqft, the mall is located next to Burj Dubai – the world's tallest building.

The main contract for the construction of The Dubai Mall was awarded to Dutco Balfour Beatty and Al Ghandi CCC in October 2004. DP Architects Pte Ltd (Singapore) are the main architects and the project managers are Turner Construction International. The piling contractor commenced work on May 5, 2004. The main contractor started on October 21 of the same year.

"The ground-breaking for the Dubai Mall was in 2004, shortly after the ground-breaking for Burj Dubai," said Ali.

The site did not pose a challenge, he told Emirates Business. "The sheer size of the total site area gave us the flexibility to develop the mall according to the master-plan and our design concepts. Therefore, the site per se did not present challenges."

The key brief to the architects was to integrate the mall into the overall developmental ethos of Downtown Burj Dubai, keeping in mind the proximity of Burj Dubai, he said. "A vertical construction for the mall, therefore, was not preferred to keep the spotlight on Burj Dubai. The design features were specifically briefed to blend traditional Arab motifs and architectural elements in a modern context," said Ali.

The most important infrastructure challenge in any mall development is traffic and parking. "Both were addressed right from the beginning," he said. The mall offers three car parks for more than 14,000 vehicles.

The development will have ease of access through the Dubai Metro, the Burj Dubai Tram system and the main thoroughfares. "The Dubai Mall has been working closely with the RTA on the development of the surrounding road infrastructure for opening day. The RTA is currently undergoing a massive redevelopment and expansion of Interchange 1 to manage the expected increase in traffic once Dubai Mall opens and a dedicated road from Sheikh Zayed Road will lead directly into the mall by the opening day," said Ali. "Public service facilities are also being developed in association with various agencies."

So how did Dubai Mall address issues such as traffic within an existing construction and residential site? "Work on the mall had started ahead of or in tune with the other projects, which gave the contractors enough leeway to plan issues of traffic and logistics without disturbing residential communities or affecting other construction work," said Ali.

With several residential and hospitality projects in Downtown Burj Dubai already operational, access to Dubai Mall did not pose much of a problem, he said. "However the Dubai Mall opening has been rescheduled (from August 28) to enhance ease of access as there will be direct road access from Sheikh Zayed Road."

Ali said car parks at Dubai Mall will be operational from the opening day. Two car parks are located at each end of the mall, with the third located on Doha Street.

Dubai Mall is the flagship development for Emaar Malls Group and is a centrepiece in Emaar's Downtown Burj Dubai mixed-use community.

FACT FILE

- The mall has a total internal floor area of 5.9 million sqft; the size is equivalent to 50 football pitches.

- More than 2,600 pieces of external pre-cast are erected to date (as of August).

- More than 1.8 million sq ft of stone and tile works has been laid (as of August). 

- More than 13,550 tonnes of structural steel has already been deployed to date (as of August). This adds up to more than the total amount of steel used in the Eiffel Tower in Paris (7,300 tonnes). The Mall will have 95 elevators and 150 escalators. 

- The mall has a current manpower of 10,000.

- The number of man hours clocked to date on Dubai Mall is more than 129,433,815 (as of August 24). 

- In its first year of opening, Dubai Mall expects a footfall of 30 million visitors. 

- It will feature more than 1,200 retail outlets, almost triple in number to any other mall offering in Dubai.

- Dubai Mall will include direct access to the iconic Burj Dubai, offering a paid-public access to a viewing area at level 124 of the building.

WORLD'S LARGEST 

-  The mall will have world's largest single volume Aquarium and Discovery Centre featuring a 270-degree walkthrough tunnel holding 10 million litres of water and housing 33,000 living animals (including more than 400 sharks and rays), representing more than 85 marine species.

- The aquarium will have the world's largest viewing panel: 32.8m long x 8.3m high.

- It will have the world's largest indoor gold souk, including 220 retailers.

- A 440,000 sqft fashion precinct will be dedicated to haute couture. 

- The 22-screen Cineplex will be the largest in Dubai.

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