Emaar Properties is building air-conditioned parking at Dubai Square mall, its under-construction retail centrepiece at Dubai Creek Harbour, in what the developer says will be the first of its kind for a major mall anywhere in the world.
Emaar founder Mohamed Alabbar confirmed the feature is already taking shape. ‘The parking will feature full interior design treatment and is currently under construction,’ Alabbar said.
The project was officially unveiled by Emaar Properties on 5 December 2025. The mall forms the retail anchor of the wider Dubai Square development, which carries a total retail, hospitality and commercial area of 2.6 million square metres within the Dubai Creek Harbour master plan.
Scale of the Dubai Creek Harbour project
The broader Dubai Creek Harbour district spans over 11 million square metres and is attributed a total development cost of Dh180 billion, according to Emaar’s own disclosures. The district also encompasses 7.4 million square metres of residential space and 500,000 square metres of gardens and open areas, according to Emaar’s published design detail.
Emaar fully acquired Dubai Creek Harbour from Dubai Holding in August 2022 for Dh7.5 billion, paid equally in cash and Emaar shares, making Dubai Holding the second-largest shareholder in Emaar Properties.
Dubai Square’s location at Dubai Creek Harbour puts it roughly 10 minutes from Dubai International Airport, positioning it as the closest major retail district to arriving international passengers, Emaar has said.
Dubai Square air-conditioned parking and other planned features
The air-conditioned parking sits alongside several other features planned for the mall. Emaar says the development will include dedicated electric vehicle facilities and will be designed as a drive-through destination, supported by AI-assisted services for shoppers. A fully integrated transport network and pedestrian-friendly streets are also part of the master plan, according to a joint Emaar and Dubai Holding press release.
Emaar’s H1 2026 investor presentation describes Dubai Square Mall as a ‘regional shopping mall’, without specifying a retail floor area for the mall building itself. The earlier report’s description of the mall as three times the size of Downtown Dubai refers to the wider Dubai Square district, not the mall footprint alone.
The developer expects the mall to open within approximately three years of the project’s unveiling, though no fixed opening date has been announced.
Emaar’s wider mall portfolio and expansion plans
Dubai Square will sit alongside Emaar’s existing retail portfolio, which includes The Dubai Mall, Dubai Hills Mall, Dubai Marina Mall, Souk Al Bahar and The Ranches Souk.
The Dubai Mall drew 105 million visitors in 2023, a 19 per cent increase on the previous year, and 57 million visitors in the first half of 2024, compared with 52 million in the same period in 2023, according to the Emirates News Agency (WAM).
A separate expansion of The Dubai Mall, known internally as the Grand Drive, is also under way. Emaar’s H1 2026 investor presentation puts the investment at Dh1.5 billion, covering more than 240 new luxury stores and food-and-beverage outlets across approximately 440,000 square feet of gross leasable area. That expansion is expected to open in the second half of 2028.
Alabbar is also chairman of Eagle Hills and co-founder of the e-commerce platform Noon, according to WAM.
The Grand Drive expansion at The Dubai Mall is the next concrete milestone on Emaar’s retail timeline, with its H2 2028 opening window now the nearest confirmed date in the developer’s published pipeline.
