What’s On has details and pictures of the capital’s answer to the Dubai Mall, a super mall on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, to open in November.


Dubai has always had the edge on Abu Dhabi when it comes to attracting globetrotting shopaholics.

The Dubai Mall is the world’s biggest shopping complex by area, and the Mall Of The Emirates recently added the first stand-alone Isabel Marant store in the UAE to its extensive list of high-end boutiques.

But now Abu Dhabi is preparing to woo shoppers with its own super mall: a sprawling 235,000sq m complex on Yas Island set to open in November.

These pictures reveal the scale of Yas Mall, which will be home to more than 400 stores.

Developer Aldar Properties is hoping the new shopping destination will see up to 20million visitors a year flocking to Yas Island, which already has a Formula One circuit, the Ferrari World theme park, and a water park.

Aldar has said 20million is a conservative estimate, describing a “hunger” for destination shopping in the capital.

“Over the last five years, the growth of both Dubai Mall and the Mall Of The Emirates has been immense,” Aldar CEO Mohammed Khalifa Al Mubarak told CNN.com.

“They’ve both become destinations in themselves. Abu Dhabi does not have that sort of destination here. It needs that, it’s hungry for it, and Yas Mall is hopefully going to cater to that hunger.”

The firm is so confident of the success of Yas Mall it is already looking ahead to phase two of the development, with even more shops due to be added down the line.

Yas Mall is the second biggest in the UAE behind the Dubai Mall, which covers a staggering 502,000sq m.