$167 mln Aeon Mall in Hue set to begin construction in Feb

The construction of Aeon Mall Hue in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, with an investment of VND3,916 billion ($167 million) is set to kick off on February 11, according to local authorities.

The mall is located in the An Van Duong urban area, An Dong ward, Hue town, covering 86,216 square meters, including 50,000 square meters for a commercial center.

The eight-floor mall is set to feature food & beverage services, a kids playground, for-lease kiosks, warehouses, conference areas, and other facilities.

The retail sales of goods and services in Thua Thien-Hue grew 10.2% year-on-year to VND40,262 billion ($1.72 billion) in 2022, official data shows.

Food & foodstuff accounted for the biggest portion of VND14,930 billion ($636.81 million), up 10.8% year-on-year; followed by wood and construction materials with VND6,285 billion ($268.07 million), up 9.3%; and petroleum with VND5,640 billion, up 22.9%.

The province set a target of retail sales of goods and services at VND57,300 billion ($2.44 billion) this year.

Aeon in 2020 said it would invest $2 billion expanding its presence across Vietnam, eyeing a total 25 malls by 2025. The group is operating six malls in the country - two in Hanoi, one in Hai Phong city, two in Ho Chi Minh City, and one in nearby Binh Duong province.

The Japanese group entered the Vietnamese market in 2013, with the first mall located in HCMC.

In July 2022, the retail giant surveyed locations in the southern province of Binh Duong for its second shopping mall there. Binh Duong authorities recommended two sites with areas of 4.8 hectares and four hectares in Uyen Hung ward, Tan Uyen town. The $95 million Aeon Binh Duong Canary, the first one in the industrial hub neighboring HCMC, covers seven hectares in Thuan An town.

Last December, Aeon signed a memorandum of understanding with Hai Duong province People’s Committee to build a mall in the northern province. The mall will be located in the southern urban area of Hai Duong town near Vo Nguyen Giap boulevard of the northern province.