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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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