Berjaya’s Great Mall of China to be ready by 2017

MASSIVE DEVELOPMENT: Developer’s RM7.5b integrated complex to be world’s biggest once completed

BERJAYA Land Bhd (BLand) is building the world’s biggest integrated mall complex estimated to be worth about RM7.5 billion on a 32ha site in China’s Hebei Province, its chief said.

Called Great Mall of China, the 18.5 million sq ft development, which is similar to the concept of Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur, is expected to be completed within the next five years, said BLand chief executive officer Datuk Francis Ng Sooi Lin.

Once completed, the project will feature more than two million sq ft of retail space, two hotels, two serviced apartments, office towers, convention centre, theatre and a parking complex.

There will also be an indoor monorail, three theme parks and acquarium.

Berjaya Great Mall of China Co Ltd (BGMOC), a 51 per cent subsidiary of BLand, is undertaking the development.

Berjaya Group founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan holds 49 per cent of BGMOC through Berjaya Times Square Cayman Ltd.Under the first phase development, BGMOC will build a retail and pedestrian
mall, each with one million sq ft of space, an extreme park, a family park and a water park, as well as parking facilities.

Ng said the gross development cost for phase one was estimated at RM1.5 billion.

BGMOC has a paid-up capital of US$165 million (RM506.6 million) and almost half the amount had been utilised for the Phase
One development, Ng said in an interview with Business Times.

Some 40 per cent of Phase One had been completed and the remaining portion was expected to be completed by October next
year, Ng said.

“We are quite confident we can carry out Phase One without loans. By August, we will open for sale around 540,000 sq ft of space at the retail mall and hope to rake in some RM750 million in gross development value,” Ng said.

He said BLand would retain the remaining 460,000 million sq ft of retail space and the one million sq ft pedestrian mall for recurring income.

Currently, the world’s biggest mall is The Dubai Mall in United Arab Emirates, with a built-up area of 12.1 million sq ft.

By Business Times