UAE’s Nakheel continues $1.36billion hospitality expansion with ground-break on hotel at Ibn Battuta Mall

24 April 2017

Dubai – Dubai master developer Nakheel today broke ground on a new, 375-room hotel at Ibn Battuta Mall, with a total project value of AED240 million.

The ground-breaking ceremony – Nakheel’s second in a week – was led by Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah and comes a month after the company handed a construction contract worth AED184.5 million to Dubai-based Parkway International Contracting LLC to build the hotel, which will be operated by Thailand’s Minor Hotel Group under the AVANI brand.  

Set for delivery in 2019, the AVANI is the second Nakheel hotel at Ibn Battuta Mall and one of 18 in the company’s growing hospitality project portfolio. Nakheel is investing AED5 billion in the sector, bringing over 5,800 rooms and serviced apartments to Dubai in line with the government’s 2021 vision.

Nakheel Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah said: “Today is yet another major milestone for our hospitality business that highlights our commitment to Vision 2021, further reinforces our position as a leading player in Dubai’s ever-diversifying hospitality sector and cements our partnership with Minor Hotel Group. The AVANI is an exciting enhancement to Ibn Battuta Mall and a shining example of our quest to bring new, quality, international hotel brands to the emirate.

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Today’s ground-breaking ceremony comes a week after construction began at Nakheel’s AED176 million, 304-room Premier Inn hotel at Dragon City.

Located next to the new link connecting Ibn Battuta Mall with the Dubai Metro, the AVANI has a built-up area of 278,000 sq ft across 15 floors, and features an all-day restaurant, pool, gym and car park for 135 vehicles. It complements Nakheel’s first hotel at Ibn Battuta – a 372-room Premier Inn – which opened last October.

The AVANI is a key component of a large-scale, phased expansion at Ibn Battuta that will turn the highly-popular retail hub into a sprawling mixed-use community with 2.2 million sq ft of shop space, 810 apartments and 747 hotel rooms.

Nakheel’s 18-strong hospitality portfolio includes hotels and serviced apartment buildings – from luxury to more modest accommodation – across Dubai. Two are already operational, with the rest at various stages of construction and development:

Location	Type	Rooms	Partner/Operator	Status
Dragon City	Hotel	251	Accor – ibis Styles	Operational
Dragon City	Hotel	304	Whitbread – Premier Inn	Under construction
Ibn Battuta Mall	Hotel	372	Whitbread – Premier Inn	Operational
Ibn Battuta Mall	Hotel	375	Minor – AVANI	Under construction
Palm Jumeirah (Palm Tower)	Hotel	289	Starwood – St Regis	Under construction
Palm Jumeirah (Palm 360)	Hotel x 2	110 (total)	To be confirmed	Design stage
Jumeirah Village Triangle	Hotel	256	Hilton – DoubleTree (MoU)	Under construction
Jumeirah Village Circle	Hotel	250	To be confirmed	Design stage
Discovery Gardens	Hotel	250	To be confirmed	Design stage
Deira Islands	Resort	800	JV – Nakheel/RIU	Agreement signed
Deira Islands	Resort	550	JV – Nakheel/Centara	Agreement signed
Deira Islands	Hotel x 4	1,000 (total)	To be confirmed	Design stage
Deira Islands	Serviced apts x 2	1,000 (total)	To be confirmed	Design stage
TOTAL		5,807

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About Nakheel (www.nakheel.com) 
Nakheel is one of the world’s leading developers and a major contributor to realising the vision of Dubai for the 21st century: to create a world class destination for living, business and tourism. Nakheel continues to deliver and enhance an iconic portfolio of innovative landmark projects in Dubai across the residential, retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.

Our master developments include Palm Jumeirah, The World, Deira Islands, Jumeirah Islands, Jumeirah Village, Jumeirah Park, Jumeirah Heights, The Gardens, Discovery Gardens, Al Furjan, Warsan Village, Dragon City, International City, Jebel Ali Gardens and Nad Al Sheba.  Together, these span more than 15,000 hectares and currently provide homes for over 270,000 people. Nakheel has more than 21,000 residential units under construction or in the pipeline.

Nakheel’s current and future retail project portfolio covers nearly 17 million square feet of leasable space.  Developments include Ibn Battuta Mall, Dragon Mart 1 and 2, Golden Mile Galleria, Nakheel Mall, The Pointe, Deira Mall, Deira Islands Night Souk, Warsan Souk, Al Khail Avenue, The Circle Mall and Nad Al Sheba Mall, as well as major extensions to Dragon Mart (renamed Dragon City) and Ibn Battuta Mall.  The retail profile also includes several neighbourhood community centres.

Our growing hospitality project portfolio comprises 18 hotels and serviced apartment developments with more than 5,800 rooms between them at various locations in Dubai, including Palm Jumeirah, Deira Islands, Ibn Battuta Mall, Jumeirah Village and Dragon City.

Media contact: Rebecca Rees on +9714 375 9702 ([email protected])

© Press Release 2017