The mega shopping mall to be built in Riyadh with 16 billion riyals will open in 2026

 The mega shopping mall to be built at the cost of 16 billion riyals in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, will be opened by early 2026.

Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Majid Al Futtaim Group CEO Alan Bajani told Arab News more details about the retail company's Mall of Saudi project.

"We have completed the feasible works and now we are moving towards the next phase," he said. Construction of the mall requires 48 months and should be completed by late 2025 or early 2026.

Mall of Saudi, which was announced at last year's Future Investment Initiative, will include six hotels and approximately 1,600 residential units in an integrated community. Along with an indoor ski slope, the mall will also host the world's largest snow dome.

The Majid Al Futtaim Group, which also operates cinemas, supermarkets and hotels, has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak and many of its businesses have temporarily closed.

Alan Bajani believes that the economic policies implemented in the region during the Corona epidemic have been beneficial for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

He said that the fiscal discipline that was established during the Corona crisis has been very good for Saudi Arabia and the UAE as well as for the region globally.

About Majid Al Futtaim Group's recovery after Corona, Alan Bajani said that the footfall in the malls is returning very strongly, but it is outpacing it in terms of sales growth.

"Majid Al Futtaim Group is performing well in 2022, it is a very good year and we think it will continue in 2023," he said. There are challenges and we have to deal with them. We are present in 18 markets with 12 different business activities, so naturally we will always have to deal with some problems. It is very important that Egypt manages to get out of the difficulty it is going through at the moment.

"The UAE and Saudi Arabia are leading economies that are on the path to growth and recovery, indeed outperforming other markets around the world," said Alan Bajani.

He said that "Saudi Arabia is the main market for us and we want to turn it into a domestic market for us. We strongly believe in the potential of the Saudi market."