Discover the future north corridor of the international airport and community, a new mixed-use gateway rising beside Al Maktoum Airport.
A joint venture between Dubai South and Majid Al Futtaim has entered the market with a mixed-use community anchored by a large retail center next to Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC). The project carries an estimated value of AED 62 billion, roughly USD 16.9 billion, across a built-up area of about 22 million square feet. It is one of the largest single announcements our team has tracked in the southern corridor this year, and it changes how we’re advising clients who are weighing Dubai South against the established inner-city districts.
For years, retail and lifestyle infrastructure in Dubai concentrated around Downtown, Dubai Marina and the Palm. Dubai South existed mostly as a logistics and aviation story: the airport, the Expo legacy site, warehousing. What this announcement does is fold retail and community infrastructure into that story. A mixed-use scheme of this size, with a large mall as its anchor, functions less like a shopping destination and more like a town centre for an entire southern district. That distinction matters for how we evaluate off-plan opportunities in the area.
We already see the pattern locally. South Bay, a residential community inside Dubai South built around a one-kilometre lagoon, includes South Bay Mall: a three-storey retail centre of about 20,000 square metres with 60 stores, two anchor department outlets, a food hall, a clinic and a clubhouse. That mall was scaled for one community. The new Dubai South-Majid Al Futtaim project is scaled for the district around an international airport, and the difference in ambition is roughly the difference between a neighbourhood amenity and a piece of city infrastructure.
Buyers we work with on off-plan in Dubai tend to ask the same question when a project like this is announced: does proximity actually move price. Our answer, based on how similar anchor announcements have played out elsewhere in Dubai, is that retail-anchored infrastructure changes the destination value of the surrounding radius, typically the projects within a 10 to 20 minute drive of the anchor. It removes one of the biggest risks in off-plan buying: ending up in a district that never gets the amenities it was promised, but it does not guarantee appreciation on its own.
For Golden Visa holders and long-term residents, the calculus is different from a pure investor’s. What they are pricing is daily life over a 10 to 20 year horizon: a functioning clinic nearby, schools, food and beverage options, somewhere to spend a Saturday without a 40-minute drive north. A mixed-use community of 22 million square feet next to a major airport is a strong signal that Dubai South will not remain a satellite district. It is being built out as a place people actually live, not just a place planes land.
There is a broader pattern worth naming here. Dubai’s mall pipeline has accelerated across the emirate, not only in the south: multiple new district-level retail centres are opening across the market this year, and a separate, much larger mall project is under construction at Dubai Creek Harbour. Compared against these, the Dubai South scheme is notable less for scale and more for location. It sits at the intersection of a future global aviation hub and a residential and investment corridor that, until now, lacked a defined commercial centre.
For investors already holding positions in Emaar South, South Bay and other Dubai South communities, the announcement is effectively an infrastructure upgrade to an existing thesis. For investors weighing Dubai South against Downtown, Business Bay or JVC for a first purchase, it adds a data point that shifting capital south is no longer a bet on logistics alone. And for buyers diversifying across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah, a project of this size next to DWC is a reasonable argument for keeping at least part of a portfolio near the airport corridor rather than only in the established centre.
What we’re watching next is master plan detail: phasing, the retail brand mix, and how the surrounding off-plan launches price against the anchor once construction visibly starts. Announcements of this size tend to move fastest in year one and then settle into a longer build cycle, and that gap between announcement and delivery is usually where the most useful entry points sit for patient buyers.
FAQ
What exactly is being built in Dubai South?
A mixed-use community developed jointly by Dubai South and Majid Al Futtaim, anchored by a large retail centre, located next to Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC).
How big is the project?
The estimated value is AED 62 billion (about USD 16.9 billion), across roughly 22 million square feet of built-up area.
Is this the same as the Dubai Square mall project?
No. Dubai Square is a separate, larger retail development under construction at Dubai Creek Harbour. The Dubai South project is a distinct scheme tied to the Al Maktoum Airport area.
Does this affect off-plan pricing in Dubai South? Large anchor infrastructure typically raises destination value for projects within a 10 to 20 minute radius, though it does not guarantee appreciation on its own.
Is Dubai South a good fit for Golden Visa holders?
For residents planning to live in the UAE long-term, the growing retail, healthcare and lifestyle infrastructure around DWC is a meaningful factor in evaluating the district’s livability over a 10 to 20 year horizon.
How does this compare to South Bay Mall in the same area?
South Bay Mall is a smaller, community-level retail centre (about 20,000 square metres) inside one residential development. The new project is scaled for the wider district around the airport, closer to a town centre than a neighbourhood mall.
