The consortium behind Doha Festival City, the giant mall complex currently under construction on Al Shamal Road (and future home of IKEA)  has struck a new deal for a QR3.7bn loan to finance its construction.

 “We are pleased to be working with such strong and committed banking partners”, says Marwan Shehadeh, General Manager of BASREC, Festival City’s developers. “The signing of this transaction is a testimony to the confidence that our banking partners have in this distinguished and iconic project”.

When finished, Festival City will have 260,000 square metres of retail space as well as hotels and a convention centre. It is likely to cost QR6bn in total to build.

Festival City’s first phase, the 32,000 square metre IKEA store, is scheduled to open in the first few months of next year, but the rest of the site won’t be ready until 2015.

Credit: ”A model of Doha Festival City is displayed at Cityscape Qatar 2012” by Omar Chatriwala.