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Mall of the Emirates sets trends again with $1.4bn revamp

17 April 2025

Commentary
Colin Foreman
Editor

When Majid Al-Futtaim (MAF) opened Mall of the Emirates in September 2005, it was a major moment for Dubai. With its indoor ski slope and world-class retail offering, it was one of the first projects in a wave of major construction projects that helped define modern Dubai.

The mall’s location was also important. It was built in Barsha, which at the time was a sparsely populated neighbourhood with just a few apartment buildings and villa complexes. As the mall quickly attracted visitors to this new part of town, it catalysed development, and today Barsha is one of Dubai’s most popular residential areas, surrounded by other thriving areas that were barely developed 20 years ago.

In 2025, Mall of the Emirates continues to set trends. In mid-April, MAF announced that it plans to spend $1.4bn to transform it into a next-generation lifestyle destination. Much has changed in the world of retail over the past 20 years, and the expansion focuses on enhancing the mall’s lifestyle offerings and experiences. The expansion will add to the $272m expansion it announced in 2013.

Many other developments in Dubai are approaching their 20th anniversary, and like MAF, many owners will be pondering a revamp so that their assets can compete with the more recently completed competition.

While these projects may not have the wow factor they had when they were new-build projects 20 years ago, they are an important part of Dubai becoming an increasingly mature market with assets that remain world-class.

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Colin Foreman

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