SA team to develop Malawi mall
Landlocked Malawi is to get its first regional shopping centre which will cost US$40m to build in its capital, Lilongwe. Construction started at the beginning of the month.
Malawi Property Investment Company, the largest property development company in the country, is developing an 18000m² shopping centre in the western suburbs of the capital.
The development is financed by the company, the National Bank of Malawi and two major international financial institutions.
An experienced South African team comprising developers, financiers, professional designers, engineers and contractors will be managing the development and construction of the project for the company.
Company chairman Dye Mawindo says that Lilongwe, with a population of just less than 1-million, has overtaken Blantyre as the country's largest city and fastest-growing urban region.
African gateway
Being centrally situated, it is perfectly positioned to serve as a gateway to the whole of central Africa, including Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
The new complex will be called The Gateway.
"It is on a prime, highly visible site in an area which is experiencing rapid middle and upper income residential growth," Mawindo says.
Malawi, with a population of almost 14-million, has had a fairly stable economy based mainly on agriculture, especially tobacco, tea and coffee in recent years and has faced up to the global recession relatively well.
In the past three years it has achieved an annual growth rate of 7%. The newly developed mining industry in the north, involving mainly uranium, will give the economy a further boost.
SA tenants
The centre will accommodate about 80 retail outlets anchored by Pick n Pay with 3500m² in a strategic position within the mall so as to ensure maximum exposure for each of the other tenants.
Many other big brand South African chains will also be taking space, along with Malawian banks, subsidiaries of South African banks, service providers and local retailers.
The restaurants and fast-food outlets comprising the food court will be enhanced by the proximity of a cinema complex with three cinemas, each with about 100 seats.
The official opening is scheduled for October next year. The design allows for a second phase which will increase the size to 24000m².
Architects on the project are leading South African retail architects, Stauch Vorster.
Source: Business Day
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