Abu Dhabi, UAE, 26 March 2018: Majid Al Futtaim – a shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure developer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia – has officially broken ground on its shopping mall called My City Centre Masdar, in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, the company announced in a Press communiqué. Amana Steel Contracting LLC has begun main works as the company’s main contractor on the project, the communiqué said.

Ghaith Shocair, Chief Executive Officer of Shopping Malls, Majid Al Futtaim – Properties, said, “My City Centre Masdar, Majid Al Futtaim’s first shopping destination to open in Abu Dhabi, will exemplify leadership in sustainable design and operation, in line with Masdar City and the UAE capital’s long-term sustainability goals.”

According to Majid Al Futtaim, the AED 340 million community-centric retail and leisure destination will be among the UAE’s most sustainable malls, designed to meet the requirements of an Estidama Three Pearl, which is equivalent to the LEED Gold rating, for exceptional performance in energy and water conservation. Set to open in Q2 2019, it will feature more than 77 stores across 18,800 sqm of gross leasable area (GLA), including a 5,793 sqm Carrefour Hypermarket and a variety of dining options for both residents and professionals within Masdar City and the surrounding communities, the communiqué said. When complete, My City Centre Masdar will be the largest Majid Al Futtaim community mall in the UAE, the communiqué further said.

According to Majid Al Futtaim, My City Centre Masdar will deploy resource- and energy-efficient processes from the construction phase to the finished mall. My City Centre Masdar will adopt an innovative waste management strategy to divert a minimum of 70% of the total solid waste generated away from landfill, and collect and segregate food waste and landscaping waste for composting off-site, the communiqué added.

In addition to reducing noise and dust on its site through safe building practices, My City Centre Masdar plans to reduce overall energy consumption at the mall by 40 per cent annually, the communiqué said. The mall will generate 20% of its electricity requirements from solar panels on the roof and all lighting in the mall will be of the energy-efficient LED variety, the communiqué further said. The consumption of potable water will be reduced by 40%, with low-flow bathroom taps and grey water recycling for landscape irrigation and toilet facilities, the communiqué added.