NAKHEEL expects to launch construction tenders for Al Khail Avenue mall – the latest project in the company’s growing retail portfolio – in the first quarter of the year, with project completion anticipated in 2018.

The Dubai-based developer launched the leasing of 1.5 million sq ft of shopping, dining and entertainment space at the mall last month.

Located at Nakheel’s Jumeirah Village Triangle community, alongside Dubai’s Al Khail Road, the mall will have 350 shops including a supermarket, department stores and speciality outlets, a multi-screen cinema, entertainment zone and a diverse range of cafes and restaurants including al fresco dining.

Al Khail Avenue, first announced during its design stage in August 2014, will be a convenient, on-the-doorstep shopping and leisure hub for the tens of thousands of people living at Jumeirah Village, Jumeirah Park and other nearby areas.

Al Khail Avenue – named after its strategic location by one of Dubai’s busiest highways, Al Khail Road – will feature a modern geometric design and a central glass atrium letting in plenty of natural light.

The mall’s diverse range of shops will be complemented by a wide selection of dining options, including a number of outdoor restaurants on a first floor promenade. There will also be a five-level car-park for more than 4,400 vehicles.

Al Khail Avenue is the latest project in Nakheel’s growing portfolio of retail developments. The company has almost 7 million sq ft of leasable area in the pipeline, with malls under way at Palm Jumeirah, Deira Islands, Jumeirah Village Circle and Triangle; suq at Deira Islands and Warsan Village; major extensions to Dragon Mart and Ibn Battuta; and neighbourhood retail centres – the first two of which opened last year – at several communities across Dubai.