SanJiang to build Asean shopping centre
SanJiang to build Asean shopping centre
The San Jiang Market investor is spending millions of US dollars building an Asean shopping mall in Vientiane to prepare for the Asean Economic Community (AEC) which comes into being in 2015.
Investors from China are ready to start construction of the new complex after seeing increasing numbers of consumers at its current San Jiang market and the economic growth in Vientiane.
The investor said the new shopping mall will be a six storey building and cost about 424 billion kip (US$53 million).
The building will occupy an area of 70,000 square metres of the14 hectare San Jiang Market site in Nakham village, Sikhottabong district, Vientiane, which opened in 2007.
The investor said the project will be completed and open in 2016. Currently the site is being cleared and preparations for construction are being made for the project.
The investor also said the current booming investment in shopping centres in Vientiane will help develop competition in the market place and provide more choices for consumers. With more competition buyers will be able to find cheaper and more quality products.
According to a report from the Lao-Thai border checkpoint near Vientiane, there were more than 1.75 million people entering Vientiane and more than 1.79 million people departing in the 2012-2013 fiscal year.
Vientiane has a population of only around 700,000 people. This means the number of people travelling and spending money in Vientiane is on the rise.
Laos is a good place to launch the high-end product marketing strategy, given that many Lao shoppers still cross the border to spend money for brand-name products abroad.
Currently there are many shopping centres operatin g in Vientiane with more being built by both local and foreign investors, including Singaporean business people, who are overseeing the Mega Mall in Sikhottabong district.
ITECC Market, currently under construction, will be the largest ever market in Laos, located on an area of 106,000 square metres in Xaysettha district, with the project planned to be completed by November this year.
Another new high-profile shopping centre planned to open late this year is set to make a distinction with a marketing strategy targeting brand-name shoppers. The four-storey shopping mall is part of the Vientiane Centre project, which is being developed on 5.3 hectares at the Nongchan Marsh in Sisattanak district.
The shopping mall and nine-storeys of office space for rent, which are being developed under the first phase of the project at a cost of about 560 billion kip (US$70 million), are planned for a pilot opening in July followed by an official opening in October.
vientiane times
