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 at the southern end of the city.

The 23- and 17-storey towers will offer approximately 70,000sq m (753,000 sq ft) of Grade A commercial office space, as well as 8,000sq m (86,000sq 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 538,000sq m (5.8 million sq ft), with 232,000sq m (2.5 million sq ft) 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.”