EC Harris, the leading international Built Asset Consultancy, has been appointed by Bawabat Al Shamal Real Estate Company to provide commercial management services for the Doha Festival City shopping mall development.

Located on the outskirts of Doha, on one of the primary roads to Saudi Arabia, the development will span across 428 million sq ft, with three million set aside for retail space. The shopping mall will aim to attract some of the world’s leading brands to the site.

The first phase of the project is due for completion in 2012, whilst the remaining elements will be delivered by 2015.

The development will feature a 300,000 sq ft IKEA store, a 350,000 sq ft entertainment and leisure complex, a supermarket and other major international and local brand tenants as well as hotels and conference facilities.

EC Harris has worked on over nine million sq ft of retail space in the Middle East, and brings a wealth of experience in delivering major shopping malls in the Mena region.

Some of the projects the company has previously helped to deliver include the recently completed Mirdif City Centre development in Dubai, the Bloomingdales store in Dubai Mall and the Al Wahda shopping mall in Abu Dhabi.

On their appointment, Simon Light, partner at EC Harris said, "The Doha Festival City shopping mall will become a significant addition to Doha retail market and we are delighted to be involved in the delivery of such a prominent and exciting development."

"We look forward to working with the team to deliver a positive outcome to all associated investors and tenants," he added.-TradeArabia News Service