Dubai: A new pedestrian bridge that connects Ibn Battuta Mall with the Dubai Metro is scheduled to open this week.

The two-storey, 210-metre walkway is seen to boost footfall numbers at the shopping complex that mainly caters to residents in or around Discovery Gardens and Jebel Ali.

The facility will be officially opened by Nakheel Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah on Thursday, 24 November 2016. It will be home to 90 shops and dining outlets.

The developer said the walkway is a “key element” of its ongoing expansion work on Ibn Battuta, which is envisioned to turn into a “sprawling retail, entertainment and leisure destination spanning seven million square feet.”

The mall attracts 20 million visitors a year, or around 55,000 daily. Footfall numbers are higher during holidays and festivals, as well as at peak times.

“The Metro link is a natural progression for Ibn Battuta that will inspire more even more visitors to discover its stunning architecture, intriguing history and retail offering – and encourage those who would normally drive to use public transport instead,” Rebecca Rees, spokesperson for Nakheel said in an email sent to Gulf News.

The completion of the pedestrian link will see the mall’s total leasable area expand to 1.3 million square feet. The size will expand further with the subsequent opening of the 4.7 million square-foot expansion, which will include a shop space of 770,000 square feet.