The foundation stone for the new mega shopping mall jointly developed by the late Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani's family and Lulu Hypermarket group was laid in a colourful ceremony in Al Khor, yesterday.
Sheikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Jassim Al Thani, Yusufali M A, Managing Director, Emke Group which owns LuLu Hypermarkets, dignitaries and government officials attended the ceremony.
The cost of the project is estimated at QR500m and is expected to take 18 months to complete. Upon completion this will be the biggest shopping mall in the Al Khor area and the biggest ever built outside Doha. The mall will be operated by the LuLu Hypermarket Group.
Apart from the state-of-the-art design and international standard mega hypermarket, the mall will also have multiplexes, amusement areas, food court, theme restaurants, cafes and more than 100 international branded outlets spread across 600,000sqft.
Sheikh Abdulla said "The new project comes in line with the directives of the Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani to extend more modern facilities and expand new societies outside Doha also."
"This is indeed a proud moment for our group and we are looking forward to bringing the finest shopping and entertainment facilities for the residents of Qatar. We are planning to invest further QR500m in new projects in two years time. Another two of our projects are in the pipeline. We now operate 64 outlets across the Middle East and are planning to add 15 more by 2010 said Yusufali."
Yusufali also thanked the Emir and the Heir Apparent for creating an international business environment to attract foreign investments in Qatar. I still remember the speech of H H the Emir at the Presidential Palace in India that within a couple of years Doha will be an international hub for international business. I salute that visionary leadership" He added.
