Time to brace yourself for an influx of even more malls, KL-ites!
According to Free Malaysia Today, 27 new malls are expected to open its doors to shoppers in greater Kuala Lumpur by 2021, bringing the overall number of malls in the city to a whopping 197 with 86.2 million square feet in retail space. Walao!
Here are just some of the upcoming malls that will be coming up in the next three years, according to property consultancy firm Savills (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd deputy executive chairman Allan Soo:
- The Exchange Mall
- Mitsui Shopping Park Lalaport
- Merdeka PNB118 Mall
- Pavilion Damansara Heights
- Pavilion Bukit Jalil
- Tropicana Gardens Mall
- CentralPlaza Mall
- Empire City Mall
Source: Booking.com
Soo was also quoted by The Sun Daily as saying that the average occupancy rate of retail space in greater KL was at 87.9 per cent last year. He cited Suria KLCC, Pavilion KL, Mid Valley Megamall, Sunway Pyramid and 1 Utama as top performing malls with an average occupancy rate of more than 90 per cent for each mall.
Despite the growing e-commerce scene in Malaysia, the deputy executive chairman explained that the retail market will experience a changing landscape in the long term as malls react to the millennium crowd and e-commerce’s disruptions.
Meanwhile, it was also predicted that there would be an additional supply of around 20 million square feet of shopping complexes and 22 million square feet of purpose-built offices available this year, which will likely lead to lower occupancy rates and decreasing rental charges.
Source: Hommes
This growing number of buildings has raised concern among some, with property consultants Rahim & Co stating that the number of new commercial spaces available in the next two to five years may not be completely utilised. The property consultancy firm’s executive chairman Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman stated,
“There is a worry that these spaces may not be occupied. The positive part of it is people who do business have choices and rentals may not be as high as before.”
“I don’t know the tipping point (for retail space) but I would be comfortable with an additional two million sq ft, not eight million sq ft or more.”
What do you think of the growing number of malls and retail spaces coming up in the next few years? Let us know in the comments below!
Also read: Shopping Malls in Klang Valley are Slowly Dying, Here Are the Signs
