UNITED Developers, a venture floated by local investors with expertise in retail and real estate, will build a Parisian-inspired QR5-billion ($1.37 billion) mixed-used development in Qatar’s Lusail City.

The project, Place Vendôme, will host two five-star hotels, serviced apartments, up to 400 retail outlets, a central entertainment component showcasing “permanent attractions and technologically-advanced installations”, said a report in the Gulf Times.

Drawing inspiration from the Parisian district of the same name, Place Vendôme will be reminiscent of the high-end shopping street in Paris, Rue de la Paix, of which Place Vendôme is the starting point, the report said.

Place Vendôme is slated for opening in the third quarter of 2017. About 20 per cent of the work on the Phase One of the project is complete, which includes excavation works, project director Sean Kelly was quoted as saying by the report.

The total construction area will be 800,000 sq m and will feature retail, leisure, entertainment and luxury spaces, packaged into a one-stop family destination by the sea, it said.

Kelly said project funding is in place and the necessary approvals have been secured.

The development will feature a canal running through it directly from the sea. The central feature of the canal will be a lively dancing fountain complemented by laser displays.

A family entertainment centre, a cinema complex and fitness centres are also planned.

The project will also feature an indoor bird sanctuary.