DLF builds India's largest mall in Gurgaon

NEW DELHI: India's leading developer DLF is set to build India's largest mega mall, a 4-million square feet promenade in Gurgaon, that's being touted as the country's answer to the huge malls that are coming up in China.

India's largest real estate builder will invest Rs 2,000 crore on the project, which compares with the world's largest 7-million sq ft New South China mall in Dongguan and is bigger than the 1.5-million sq ft Great India Place mall in Noida - currently the largest mall in India, a senior official at DLF said.

The mall was originally planned in 2005 to be completed by 2007 when it would have been the largest in the world, but it was put on the back burner as demand waned. Since then quite a few big malls with 6-7 million sq ft area have come up in China.

Economic Times quoting the official having said earlier that construction work at the site will begin as soon as DLF's 1.8 million sq ft mall in Noida is operational in the next 10-12 months.

The builder is relying on the fact that the mall's opening in 2015-16 will coincide with the entry of a number of new retailers and brands into the country with the opening up of foreign direct investment in single and multi-brand retail.

"By then, the rapid metro for Gurgaon and DLF's new 16-lane road would also be operational, feeding traffic into the new mall," said the official. A station on the new rapid metro will be integrated with the mall to bring in footfalls. The mall is being planned as a large retail district with a combination of open and indoor spaces.

The Indian retail environment is currently facing challenges, with an oversupply of retail spaces but a lack of quality malls across cities. The overall absorption of retail space in India fell 57% in the first half of 2012 due to non-availability of quality malls, according to property advisory firm, Jones Lang LaSalle India.

Earlier this year, the government allowed 100% FDI in single brand retail but with a few riders like mandatory sourcing of 30% from Indian SMEs. It had also tried to open up FDI in multi-brand retailing but had faced stiff opposition from small retailers who fear their businesses will be impacted if foreign multi-brand retailers like Wal-Mart, Tesco and Carrefour are allowed to set up shop here.