One of the world’s biggest holes started to be dug on Saturday in Tianjin Binhai New Area in preparation for building a shopping mall larger than 74 football fields in this northern Chinese city.
When complete in 2013, SM Tianjin Shopping Center will be the world’s largest free-standing mall and will have required an investment by its Philippine-based developer of more than RMB 3 billion, according to a statement by the company.
The mall will feature three oval-shaped buildings, which are linked together by a central ring, and will have a gross floor area of 530,000 square meters. The developer, SM Group, is the Philippines’ largest mall operator, and already has retail mall developments in Xiamen, Jinjiang (Fujian), Chengdu, and Suzhou. Besides the Tianjin project, SM has malls under development in Chongqing and Zibo (Shandong).
In addition to having the world’s largest mall, Tianjin is known for being the home of one of China’s best known industrial zones, Tianjin Economic Development Area (TEDA).
According to Forbes, SM Group’s founder Henry Sy is the Philippines richest man, with a family fortune of US$8 billion. Sy’s SM Group now has malls in 42 locations, including five in China..
Did anyone catch that this project will be finished in 1 year………time to place your bets gents
Yes, I thought that timeframe looked a bit optimistic as well. Maybe this will be not only the world’s largest mall, but also the first fully-prefab one?
Largest shopping mall….typical: high rise buildings, infrastructure projects and shopping malls. That’s how China is merely developing. Unsustainable.