The company has categorised its shopping complexes into four major formats - Central Plaza, CentralWorld, Central Festival and Central Town. The company is also looking abroad to countries such as China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia to develop and open complexes.

Kobchai said that while Central Plaza would be its flagship retail format, designed for locations on the outskirts of central business districts, CentralWorld had been designed as its flagship format for central city areas.

Central Festival will be a format designed for major tourist destinations, while Central Town will be a community mall format designed for suburban areas of Bangkok as well as provinces and major districts.

"We have seen the lifestyle of people who live upcountry become modernised and in favour of modern shopping complexes," said Kobchai. "Many upcountry people worked in Bangkok for a few years and decided to go back to their provincial home. Public transport systems throughout the country, such as buses and trains, have declined gradually year by year. All this will encourage a flow of lifestyle and shopping attitudes from place to place across the country."

He gave the examples of major provinces such as Nong Khai and Chiang Rai, where local shopping centres had been popular among shoppers.

"We aim to expand our Central Town complex to major provinces and districts. Compared to other retail formats, Central Town will require less investment - not higher than Bt1 billion - and have average retail space of between 30,000 and 50,000 square metres," said Kobchai.

Kobchai said that CentralWorld, the company's flagship complex on Rajdamri Road, had almost 85 per cent of total retail space open.

He said the complex, including over 550,000 square metres of retail space, would consist of key magnets including a Central Food Hall supermarket, which opened at the beginning of the month. The theatre complex at CentralWorld will be totally completed by the end of this month. Zen will also open its department store complex in December and all local and international restaurants are scheduled to open in March.

"We will also complete our new five-star 550-room hotel at the Central orld project by December next year, while our 17,000-square-metre convention centre will be finished and opened in June," said Kobchai.

He said the company was also renovating its Central complex in Ram Indra. The work will be fully completed in April or May and will transform Central Ram Indra into a "lifestyle complex", consisting of six cineplex theatres, a fitness centre and modern restaurants.

Central Pattana has developed many shopping complexes around Bangkok and upcountry, including Central Plaza Lat Phrao, Central Plaza Pinklao, Central Plaza Bang Na, Central Plaza Rama II and Rama III, Central Festival Pattaya, Central Festival Phuket and Central Airport Chiang Mai.

It will also start new shopping complex projects at Chaeng Wattana and in Khon Kaen and Chon Buri next year.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation