The QR5.4 billion Mall of Qatar will now open on Dec. 10 instead of Oct. 29, officials have announced.

The delay is to ensure that more “key offerings and facilities will be available,” the mall’s general manager said in a statement yesterday.

Rony Mourani added:

“We are just as eager to open our doors and welcome our very first visitors and give them the experience that we have promised.

Our proposition has to ensure that all our visitors get what they are looking for and so much more from their very first interaction with Mall of Qatar.”

Yesterday, officials said the mall has secured its building completion certificate, signaling that construction on the facility was finished.

However, they did not comment on whether the necessary Civil Defense permits had been obtained yet.

New stores

When it opens, MOQ will have over 500 shops, including 100 food and beverage outlets. More than 40 retailers are new to the country, such as Cheesecake Factory, Pottery Barn and Hamley’s toy store.

There’s also a “Signature Carrefour” built to resemble a village market, a 19-screen movie theater, and a $25-million miniature children’s city.

MOQ is located next to the upcoming Al Rayyan World Cup stadium, and a hotel operated by Hilton is in the works.

The mall is already more than a year behind schedule, and has revised its launch date several times. Most recently, it pushed back a summer opening to October.

At the time, Mourani said tenants needed a few more months to complete their retail fit-outs.

Competitor Doha Festival City had also planned to open earlier this year, but has since pushed back its opening to February 2017.

Officials attributed the delays to issues with the “supporting infrastructure” outside of their control.

DFC is located north of Doha on Al Shamal Road. It will eventually include the world’s largest Monoprix, an 18-screen 4D VOX cinema and an Angry Birds theme park.

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