Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari, turned shovelfuls of sand this morning marking the official start of construction on the 20 million sq. ft City of Arabia project, one of the leading private sector projects in the Middle East. Located on a site close to the Emirates Road, the first phase of City of Arabia, which is the anchor project in Dubailand, is due for completion in 2008.
Speaking about this morning’s ceremony, Ilyas Galadari, Chairman of the Ilyas & Mustafa Galadari Group, commented, “Today's groundbreaking celebrates the beginning of a unique development for Dubai, offering a combination of retail, leisure, commercial and residential elements that will attract both local and international investment. The Restless Planet dinosaur theme attraction is already being compared with top theme parks in America and with an international team of experts guiding the project, is set to become an icon for Dubai that will be recognized around the globe.”
Middle East Foundations, who won the piling contract have commenced work on translating the masterplan, designed by P & T, into reality. With the site prepared, work has started on boring the 13,000 piles that will form the foundations for the Mall of Arabia, one of the world’s largest malls and an important part of the City of Arabia..
Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group
The Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group is a dynamic young company which was founded in 1998 and already owns a diversified range of companies in Dubai. The most important of these is the Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Management Investment and Development Company, which is developing the key downtown area of Dubailand, the City of Arabia. This will be a new suburb of Dubai with around 40,000 inhabitants, which is situated on Emirates Road next to the Global Village. It will include the Mall of Arabia; the Restless Planet dinosaur theme-park; the Elite Towers, which consist of 34 high-rise buildings for mixed commercial and residential use; and the Wadi Walk, a series of low-rise apartments alongside a flowing waterway, served by small electric water-taxis.
The Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group also own Metro Taxi, one of the largest vehicle fleets in Dubai, and an associated driving school and workshops. There are the exclusive distributors of Sunseeker Yachts in the Gulf Region. The Group also owns food distribution, jewelry, kitchen equipment and upholstery companies.
