Even though the economy is grim, big malls are opening around the world. We recently mentioned the opening of the Westfield Mall in London and now the Dubai Mall has officially opened boasting the largest number of retailers in the world.

As we mentioned earlier this year, the mall boasts a gold souk, a 10-million litre (2.2 million gallon) aquarium and an Olympic-size ice rink in addition to rows and rows of stores.

The mall is situated at the foot of Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower), already the tallest building on earth at around 700 meters (2,300 feet) and still under construction.
The mall is scheduled to house branches of some of the world’s best known retail chains, such as Marks and Spencer, Galeries Lafayette and even Bloomingdales, which has never before had stores outside the United States.

Emmar Malls Group will inaugurate its mall - Dubai Mall- on 30 October 2008. The group claims that it will the largest mall in the region.

The Mall will cover 12 million sq ft of space, and is an integral part of the Downtown Burj Dubai development.

It will feature1,200 retail outlets, two anchor department stores and more than 120 food and beverage outlets. Adjoining is The Address, Dubai Mall, a 5 star premium hotel with 250 rooms and 450 serviced apartments.