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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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