Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has broken ground on the second phase of its Uptown Dubai development as it continues to substantially enhance and expand its real estate offering.

The groundbreaking comes following the appointment of Swissboring Overseas Piling Corporation for the enabling and foundation works.

The second phase of the development will see the construction of two mid-rise towers within the Uptown Dubai district in the heart of new Dubai at the southern end of the city.

The 23- and 17-storey towers will offer approximately 70,000 square metres (753,000 square feet) of Grade A commercial office space, as well as 8,000 square metres (86,000 square feet) for food and beverage and retail outlets in keeping with the premium level of the urban community.

Once completed, Uptown Dubai will boast a total gross floor area (GFA) of 538,000 square metres (5.8 million square feet), with 232,000 square metres (2.5 million square feet) dedicated to commercial office space.

After adding the two towers to the district alongside Uptown Tower and the two residential towers within the recently launched Mercer House by Ellington Properties, over half of the district’s planned towers have now been launched. Uptown Dubai’s nine towers will encircle the focal point of the district, The Plaza, which will eventually be hosted to a dynamic and diverse offering of activities from immersive art installations to music, film and fashion performances.

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMCC, said, “For more than 20 years, DMCC has sought to realise the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, in building a world-class business district in Dubai.

“A key part of this has been the provision of good-quality commercial space, a goal pursued on our understanding of the needs of international companies and often against the warnings of those who said Dubai faced a chronic oversupply of office space.

“The successful pre-leasing in record time of Uptown Tower’s suite of Grade A offices reaffirmed our approach, and as we mark the groundbreaking of Phase 2 of Uptown Dubai, we will aim to fully replicate this success with two new commercial towers adding to the expansion of our business district and DMCC’s overall value proposition.”

Swissboring’s enabling work will focus primarily on basement retention systems for the three basement levels of the two towers, foundation works for the towers, podium levels and future bridges, dewatering works, and excavation of the entire plot assigned to phase two.

The second phase of Uptown Dubai’s development follows the opening of Uptown Tower in 2023. The 81-storey tower is home to 31 of the world’s leading businesses, including Invisalign, Wellbred, Hikvision and the Gemological Institute of America, as well as the hotel rooms and branded residences as part of the urban luxury hotel SO/ Uptown Dubai.