The Phnom Penh Mega Mall has gained a lot of attention from businesses looking to open a shop there, said CBRE Cambodia.

The nine-storey mall, which is set to open in the first half of next year, has a total floor area of 47,000sqm and will be divided into 400 individual retail spaces. There will be 1,500 parking spaces for cars and 2,000 for motorcycles.

CBRE Cambodia director Ann Sothida told The Post on Monday that there are currently about 100 local and foreign entities – mainly from Asia – who have contacted CBRE Cambodia to lease retail spaces, despite the building currently being 95 per cent complete.

According to the plan, she said, construction is slated to be completed soon, and at the beginning of next year the lessees will be allowed onto their leased spaces to prepare for business operations.

“I think that the main reason behind the high interest in the Phnom Penh Mega Mall is that it is well situated along Russian Boulevard, near the intersection of Tuol Kork, Prampi Makara and Daun Penh districts. Phnom Penh Mega Mall will be the leading mall in that area,” said Sothida.

She said economic growth and better living standards have led to the opening of many international malls and supermarkets in Cambodia such as Aeon Mall Phnom Penh, Aeon Mall Sen Sok City, Makro Cambodia and The Olympia Mall.

The average leasing fee at Phnom Penh Mega Mall is $30 per square metre per month, said Sothida.

The building began construction in 2012 under a previous agreement between the developer and Malaysia-based department store operator Parkson Holdings Bhd to open a mall in November 2015, but the deal never materialised.

A CBRE Cambodia report found that by the end of the second quarter of this year, 18 malls were operating in Phnom Penh.

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