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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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