New shopping mall set to open on March 28
New shopping mall set to open on March 28
A new high-profile shopping complex on Khouvieng Road in Sisattanak district of central Vientiane is set to open for service on March 28 to offer brand-name products for high-end shoppers.
The official opening will also include a nine-storey office block for rent, developer North Nongchan Complex Development Co., Ltd (NNCDC) has announced.
Vientiane Mayor Dr Sinlavong Khoutphaythoune visited the project site on Saturday to see first-hand the progress on the project and push for its opening, according to Economic and Trade Newspaper .
The four-storey shopping mall and offices for rent are being developed at a cost of US$70 million under the first phase of the Vientiane Centre project, which has three phases altogether.
The three-phase project is jointly developed by the Yunnan Construction Engineering Group Co., Ltd. and the Krittaphong Group Co. Ltd with a concession period running for 50 years with the option to extend for a further 20 years.
Reporting on the progress to Dr Sinlavong, the developer said construction of the mall and the office complex was complete.
Up to 95 percent of the shopping mall's space was already booked out and the tenants are now decorating their booths in preparation for the March opening, the Director of the Investment Plan Division of the Krittaphong Group Co. Ltd Mr Chanthiva Paxasouk told the mayor.
Brand-names, whose distributors have booked space to sell the high-end products at the mall, include Guy Laraoche , Arrow, BSC Cosmetology, Wacoal, Louis Fontaine, Lee, Wrangler, Casio, Guess Watches, Jockey and John Henry, the developer said previously.
Although there are many shopping malls in the Lao capital, the developer has said a place that focuses on high-end products has been missing. This is one of the reasons why so many Lao people still cross the border to spend money on brand-name products in other countries.
Sellers of brand-name products from China, Indonesia, France and Thailand have already booked shops to display and sell their products at the mall.
The shopping mall will feature a boutique supermarket, world famous brands of cosmetics, watches, fashions, jewellery, a restaurant, cinema, electronic and home appliances, furniture, and so on.
The NNCDC's marketing strategy of introducing high-end products into the Lao market came after information collected showed that thousands of Vientiane residents crossed the border during the first six months of 2013 to shop in neighbouring Thailand, while others fly to Singapore and even France to shop for brand-name goods.
The second phase of the project will be the construction of residential apartments, while the third phase will involve the construction of hotels, clubs and lakefront businesses, as well as a parking area that can accommodate more than 1,000 vehicles.
It was reported previously that work on the second phase is expected to be finished in 2015, while the third phase is slated for 2016. The last two phases will be developed at a cost of about US$50 million, bringing the total investment in the Vientiane centre project up to US$120 million.
