Leading regional developer Nakheel has opened the International City Pavilion, a new shopping and dining hub with 24 shops, restaurants and services, in line with its Dh16 billion ($4.35 billion) retail expansion strategy that will bring 17 million sq ft of new shop space to Dubai, UAE.

The project, which has a development value of nearly Dh90 million ($24.4 million), was officially inaugurated by Nakheel chairman Ali Rashid Lootah on Thursday.

Located on the southern side of International City, adjacent to Nakheel’s new Warsan Village community, the International City Pavilion boasts 82,000 sq ft of leasing space and 250 parking lots.

About 70,000 sq ft of the leasing space is opening today with the rest undergoing fit-out, said the statement from Nakheel.

The new retail venture features Union Coop as the anchor store, an Aster Specialist Medical Centre and a host of household-name outlets such as Magrabi, Aster Pharmacy, Etisalat, Adidas, McDdonalds, Gloria Jeans, KFC and Baskin Robbins.

There are also plans to extend the Pavilion with a cinema, which has already been leased to an operator.

International City Pavilion is the third Nakheel neighbourhood centre to open: the first two at Jumeirah Park and Discovery Gardens opened in 2014, with more under development at Al Furjan, Al Furjan West, Jumeirah Islands and Badrah.

On the launch, Lootah said: "We are committed to enhancing our communities with services and facilities that people want and need. International City Pavilion is a new venue that meets the everyday requirements of this vibrant, every popular community by providing a convenient place to shop, dine and socialise."

"Meanwhile, for those looking for specialist shops or a wider choice of restaurants or entertainment, there are over 1,000 just around the corner at the recently-opened Dragon Mart 2," he added.

International City Pavilion serves more than 100,000 residents at International City, and offers on-the-doorstep shopping for the Warsan Village community of 940 townhouses, where handovers are due to begin in November.  

Neighbourhood Pavilions are just one element of Nakheel’s growing retail portfolio. The company is also building large-scale malls at Palm Jumeirah, Deira Islands, Jumeirah Village and Nad Al Sheba as well as expanding Ibn Battuta Mall and Dragon Mart.-TradeArabia News Service