Aldar delays shopping mall to save 30% on costs

Abu Dhabi-based developer Aldar has announced that it is delaying the opening of a 700-store shopping centre on Yas Island by around 18 months so it can make up to a third on cost savings.

Yas Mall, which is now due to open in March 2012, is part of a large-scale development on the island that will host the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix in November,

"The cost has become the driver, as opposed to schedule, and I think that's the big difference," Worrell said in an interview with UAE daily The National.

"We're spending a little more time, and maybe some significant time, to drive the best value, to get the lowest price. The whole [economic] condition has changed."

Aldar was looking at design tweaks such as air conditioning, lighting and finishing to reduce the budget by 30 percent to ensure the project was profitable, Worrell said.

"You don't want to build something that will cost more than you would ever expect to recover.”

Mark Morris Jones, the senior director for retail and industrial property in the Middle East and North Africa with CB Richard Ellis, said cutting costs was now a necessary part of developments.

"You can't isolate yourself from what's happening to the rest of the world and the rest of the region," he said.

The shopping mall is about 10 percent complete and design-wise it was 98 percent of the way there – talks are already underway with retailers about leading units, added Worrell.  

The total Yas Island, set to cost $40bn, will be the UAE capital’s designated leisure hub, featuring residential areas for about 120,000 people.

There will also be seven hotels, including the five-star Yas Hotel, which will have about 2,250 rooms. The hotels are scheduled to open just in time for the Formula One grand prix in November.

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