Dubai Bur Dubai’s BurJuman mall is all set to get a hypermarket and a 14-screen cinema multiplex.

Eisa Adam Ebrahim, General Manager, told XPRESS on Tuesday: “BurJuman will now become home to a new Carrefour hypermarket and a 14-screen Vox Cinemas multiplex following major expansion and redevelopment of a part of the mall.”

Expansion of the landmark shopping centre begins next month and tenants in the old wing said they have been asked to vacate by December 31 to make way for the renovation.

Some of them said they will operate from the new wing during the renovation expected to last for 18 months.

The new anchor tenants will be a boon to the densely populated neighbourhood which has long felt the need for a full-fledged hypermarket and cinema.

Ebrahim said: “After the 18-month expansion and redevelopment, the Vox Multiplex and the Carrefour hypermarket, in combination with the mall’s existing retail offerings, will enable BurJuman to plug an existing gap in the retail options available in the area and serve the complete needs of the neighbourhood and its growing community. The new addition is part of BurJuman’s ongoing commitment to creating an ideal mall experience that offers the community easy access to shopping, services and entertainment.”

Tenant support

Ebrahim said the mall has been in ongoing discussions with existing tenants about the changes and has their full backing. “The project has received great support and BurJuman is very confident that the additions are exactly what tenants and shoppers in the area have been looking for. The successful completion will help further raise the mall’s profile within Dubai’s retail scene.”

Vacating retailers welcomed the new development, saying the hypermarket and cinema would add to the footfall in the mall. But with the Dubai Shopping Festival beginning next week, some wished they could stay on.

“When Dubai is preparing for its wedding day, we wish we could contribute to the event from BurJuman like we have for so many years,” said Ghalab Awad, Manager of Grand Stores, one of the mall’s oldest tenants.

“We have been here since January 24, 1994,” he said.

“DSF is the best time for business and talks are on for another space in the new wing,” said Mirwais Mohibzada, Branch Manager at Prima Gold.

“If this is good for the mall, why not? We’ve been given a temporary shop in the new section,” said Ayad Abbas, Branch Manager at Jewellery Spot.

The store in charge of another luggage and linen showroom said: “We would have stayed here during DSF if we had a choice. Earlier we heard that we would be given a three-month extension. But we now have to move out by December 31.”

When XPRESS visited the mall on Tuesday, many shops in the old wing had already downed their shutters. A board on the Adidas showroom directed customers to another location in the new wing.