Carrefour to develop hypermarket at Dubai Sports City

Carrefour, the world's second largest retailer, has announced it will develop a 136,000 sq ft hypermarket in Dubai Sports City to support its growth strategy in the Middle East.

A critical element supporting the decision was research which showed that Dubai Sports City was at the centre of a significant retail catchment area, including the project's 70,000 residents and a projected 1.2 million people who will live within a 20-minute drive from Sport City's Arena Mall.

Carrefour is a part of Majid Al Futtaim Hypermarkets, which is a subsidiary of Majid Al Futtaim Group.

Frank Witek, Chief Executive Officer, MAF Hypermarkets, said: "The expected high visitor traffic, combined with more than 7,000 parking spaces, and the ideal location on Emirates Road was what attracted us to Arena Mall. We are very pleased with the partnership and anticipate this venture to be a great success due to Dubai Sports City's impressive residential and commercial offerings, sports facilities, and progress on site."

"Signing one of the world's largest retail brands as our first official tenant is a wonderful start for Arena Mall and is testimony of the market's confidence in the potential of our retail destinations," said Khalid Al Zarooni, President of Dubai Sports City.

"Carrefour's participation is an important step in Dubai Sports City's strategy to provide residents with everything they need to maintain an active lifestyle as well as ensure the development lives up to the promise of being a 'city within a city'," added Al Zarooni.

With plans already approved by Dubai's Road and Transport Authority, dedicated flyovers will link Arena Mall to the surrounding road network, while The Sports City's residential and commercial population will benefit from the internal shuttle services to take them directly to the Arena Mall.

Arena Mall will also include an interactive and educational family entertainment centre, a cinemaplex, two food courts and an array of more than 300 stores. Dubai Sports City recently awarded the contract for shoring and excavation works for Arena Mall to NCSS, which began work at the end of July.

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