CapitaMalls Asia will open a new shopping mall in Wuhan, China – its third in the city.

CapitaMalls Asia has signed an agreement with a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corporation to acquire the retail component of an integrated development which also includes residential and office components, situated along Zhong Bei Rd in Wuchang District.

China Railway Construction Corporation, a state-owned enterprise, is one of the construction companies in China, listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

The eight-storey mall will have a total gross floor area, excluding car park, of about 70,700 sqm. Positioned as a middle- to upper-middle income, one-stop shopping destination, the proposed mall will house international and local fashion brands, a supermarket, children-related specialties, entertainment facilities and restaurants offering local and international cuisine. The mall will have about 900 car park spaces.

When completed in 2014, it will cater to the needs of the working professionals, government officials and residents working and living in the vicinity.

The total investment cost of the shopping mall is expected to be about 1.15 billion yuan (about US$173.4 million).

Capitamalls Asia’s other two malls in Wuhan are the CapitaMall Minzhongleyuan, which is operational, and CapitaMall Wusheng, which will open later this year, both located in the Hankou area in Wuhan.

“Wuhan is a major transport and commercial hub in central China. It is a high growth city with strong economic fundamentals. This gives us confidence in the potential of the retail market in Wuhan,” said Lim Beng Chee, CEO of CapitaMalls Asia.

Including this development, CapitaMalls Asia now has 59 shopping malls in 36 cities in China, of which 43 are operational and the other 16 under development.

GB