Gurgaon: World’s Largest Mall
Unfazed by a decrease in footfalls at Gurgaon malls and virtual halving of rental rates, DLF Universal has drawn up an ambitious plan. It is going to build what could be the biggest mall in the world, as far as the claim goes. The location will still be Gurgaon. Called the Mall of India, this is set to be a humungous 40-lakh sq. ft. sprawling property spread over 32 acres of land. The average size of malls here is 2.5 lakh sq. ft. This one will be 16 times bigger. Parking space will be available for 10,000 cars. DLF believes that Gurgaon, where so many malls have sprung up, has the potential to become a mega shopping district in the NCR region. Will it really be the biggest mall in the world? According to a DLF spokesperson, Kajal Aijaz, the world’s largest at present is Mall of America in Minneapolis, USA, which has a covered area of 38 lakh sq ft, followed by a mall in Shanghai with 30 lakh sq ft. The Mall of India would leave these two behind in so far as size is concerned. The mall – located on the Delhi-Jaipur highway – has been designed by Jerde Partnership, which also did the job in Minneapolis and Shanghai. The construction work is expected to be over by 2007. The cost, property consultants estimate, may be in the region of Rs 1,500 crores. Source: realtyplusmag