Aldar Properties, the largest real estate developer in Abu Dhabi, recently announced that it will delay the completion of its $40 billion mall on Yas Island by a year. The 700-store shopping center’s completion has been delayed in an attempt to keep the project profitable as the move will cut costs by a third. The expected date of completion is in March 2012.
"The cost has become the driver, as opposed to schedule, and I think that’s the big difference," Steve Worrell, director of Yas Island told The National.
One way of cutting costs was by replacing the planned wavy roof of the mall with a flatter one, said Worrell. However, the size of the mall will remain the same.
