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The
concept of shopping malls is fairly new in
Sharjah, although several malls have opened
during 2001 and early 2002. Many large showrooms
as well as small centers are dotted around
the city selling various products.
By
2005, Sharjah is expected to rank third after
Dubai and Doha in terms of shopping center
space per capita at around 13 sq.ft., per
person - overtaking even Abu Dhabi, according
to a study by a UK based organization.
The
survey said Sharjah shopping centers will
be creating a total of about 355,000 square
meters of Gross Leaseable Area within three
years.
Sharjah's
new shopping malls include the 500,000 sq.
ft. Dh 400 million Sahara Center, 400,000
sq. ft. Sharjah Mega Mall and Majid Al Futtaim's
City Center. The survey said however, time
will tell whether Sharjah can sustain occupancy
of these malls without having to attract shoppers
from outside the emirate. The
test will be on whether Sharjah malls can
outperform well entrenched malls in Dubai,'
the study said.
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