Dubai Mall's Gold Souq is finally set to be renovated after two years of intense wrangling between Emaar Properties and retailers about the lack of visitors.
Video: Dubai Mall to be renovated
Emaar to renovate gold souq in Dubai Mall
Jewellers have been issued with eviction notices and told to clear their shops before September 3, when work is expected to begin on transforming the souq.
Many jewellers have not been offered a new store despite, they say, having been promised one months ago when Emaar first began considering a renovation. "We have received eviction notices, 25 companies," said Anand Datwani, the owner of Kyra Store. "We have been told to hand over our premises and [Emaar] has not guaranteed us a new store and privately they said they would."
Other retailers, however, say they have been given generous terms on new stores in the refurbished souq, with some being offered 25 per cent off their current rent as compensation for moving.
"It's good news, we have some hope and the changes will make it easier for people to come in the souq," said one jeweller who did not want to be named.
The gold souq retailers have been in talks with Emaar Malls Group, a subsidiary of Emaar Properties, for about two years on rent reductions and a redesign of the souq layout to encourage more customer traffic.
While Dubai Mall hosted a record 47 million visitors last year, the Gold Souq's enclosed design and maze-like corridors is disconcerting for shoppers.
A number of entrances are being significantly widened to allow easier access to the souq, which will mean some stores outside the area will also be affected.
The total number of stores in the souq is expected to be cut from more than 200 to about 50, with a large anchor fashion store put in place.
Emaar declined to comment on the Gold Souq refurbishment.
A spokesman for Emaar Malls said in April, however, the redevelopment plan within the Gold Souq occupied less than 2 per cent of the total net leasable area of 350,000 square metres in Dubai Mall.
In January, Emaar agreed to offer free rent to any jeweller if it planned to move in its renovation plans, and so many have been paying nothing in the past seven months.
For a small shop, Emaar charges Dh300,000 (US$81.675) a year in rent. Jewellers say many of their peers reneged on rental contracts in the past year due to the low footfall and left the mall owing millions of dirhams to Emaar.
These issues have now been resolved, jewellers say, which means Emaar can now go ahead with the refurbishment.
"They want to start renovating very quickly and finish quickly so they can start the rent again," said one jeweller. Emaar has indicated the renovation will take six months until January, but many jewellers expect it to be longer due to the complexity of designing and maintaining the look and feel of the souq.
Mr Datwani spent more than Dh1m fitting out and designing his store in the Gold Souq and said he had not recouped any of that cost because the store had never made a profit. "The only time we saw any hope was during the prime months of November through to February," he said.
"We will have a look for a new location somewhere. There will be loss of business, definitely."
rjones@thenational.ae
Tips for job-seekers
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
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PRESIDENTS CUP
Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday (Internationals first mention). All times UAE:
02.32am (Thursday): Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann v Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas
02.47am (Thursday): Adam Hadwin/Im Sung-jae v Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay
03.02am (Thursday): Adam Scott/An Byeong-hun v Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau
03.17am (Thursday): Hideki Matsuyama/CT Pan v Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed
03.32am (Thursday): Abraham Ancer/Louis Oosthuizen v Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland
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TOURNAMENT INFO
Opening fixtures:
Friday, Oct 5
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers
Saturday, Oct 6
4pm: Nangarhar Leopards v Kandahar Knights
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Balkh Legends
Tickets
Tickets can be bought online at https://www.q-tickets.com/apl/eventlist and at the ticket office at the stadium.
TV info
The tournament will be broadcast live in the UAE on OSN Sports.
The specs
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Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
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