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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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