Southern province to make town plan changes for Japanese-invested Aeon mall

Dong Nai province in southern Vietnam will make changes to its masterplan for Bien Hoa town to help Japanese retailer Aeon kick off construction of a mega mall this August.

Covering 12 hectares in the province’s Bien Hoa, the VND6,112 billion ($248.3 million) project had received an in-principle approval in August 2023.

However, the project has been facing an issue related to a 1.2-hectare area currently designated for tree planting. As a result, a 1-to-500 ratio plan for the project has not yet been approved.

The Dong Nai People’s Committee has requested the provincial Department of Construction to cooperate with the Ministry of Construction to adjust the Bien Hoa town master plan so that the project can proceed.

Dong Nai, a manufacturing hub in southern Vietnam, is home to the Long Thanh International Airport project, now under construction.

There are six Aeon mall outlets operational in Vietnam: two each in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and one each in the southern province of Binh Duong and northern city of Hai Phong.

The seventh and eighth outlets – the $214 million Aeon Mall Quang Ninh in the eponymous province and the $39.3 million Aeon Tan An Mall in the Mekong Delta province of Long An, are currently under construction.

Japanese retailer Aeon earned operating revenues of JPY15,263 million ($99.3 million) in Vietnam for fiscal year 2023 ending February 2024, up 14.9% year-on-year.

With this performance, it recorded an operating income of JPY3,901 million ($25.4 million) in fiscal year 2023, up 27.3% year-on-year.