Doha Festival City, a QR6 billion ($1.647 billion) entertainment, retail and hospitality destination, has made significant progress and is on target for completion of the first phase in Q1 2013.

Covering a total area of 433,847sq m, Doha Festival City will have over 260,000 sq m of Gross Leasable Area accommodating entertainment and leisure facilities, supermarkets, cinemas, hotels and conference facilities. The entire project will be ready by Q3 2015.

IKEA’s flagship store is the first piece of Doha Festival City’s wide ranging retail offer which will have more than 500 international and local retail and dining outlets, said a statement.

Greg Douglas, development director - Doha Festival City, said: “Hard rock made excavation more difficult than expected but we have managed to move over 102,000 metric tons of earth and made significant progress on the structural front. Three levels of the IKEA store, part of the first phase of development, have already been constructed. The IKEA store covers a GLA of approximately 32,000 sq m. The roof is the next stage for completion and will cover over 21,000 sq m.”

The General Contractor package for IKEA has been awarded to the joint venture between Qatari Arabian Construction Co (QACC) and Amana Qatar Contracting Co with the mechanical, electrical and plumbing package awarded to Hamad and Mohammed Al-Futtaim Engineering.

Kareem Shamma, CEO, Bawabat Al-Shamal Real Estate Company (Basrec), owners and developers of Doha Festival City, said: “The construction progress is testament to the expertise of all teams involved in this landmark project. Their commitment to Doha Festival City is a fantastic endorsement of what we are looking to achieve here. More than 777,000 man-hours have already been invested to bring the project to this stage.”

Conveniently located 15km north of Doha on Al Shamal Road, one of the arterial routes connecting the capital city to Bahrain via the proposed ‘Friendship’ causeway, Doha Festival City will be showcased at Cityscape Qatar later this month. – TradeArabia News Service