Listen To The Article
According to the Times of India, India’s largest mall, with more than 2.8 million square feet, is set to open at the Aerocity at Indira Gandhi International Airport by 2027.
This construction is a component of Worldmark Aerocity, an expansion project valued at $2.5 billion. The project’s goal is to build India’s first aerotropolis, or urban region centered around an airport. According to the research, this area will expand eight times faster than expected in the next five years.
Aerocity now has 1.5 million square feet of leasable space available, and by 2029, it intends to build over 10 million square feet in two stages.
The Worldmark Aerocity Expansion Is Completed By 2027
The global business district would be expanded by 6.5 million square feet, making a total leasable space of 18 million square feet. This will house a large-scale mall, retail stores, food courts, offices, and public places.
Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), sponsored by GMR, awarded the development of Aerocity to Bharti Realty. Aerocity’s lease is held by Bharti Realty, and state ownership is unaffected. This lease aligns with DIAL’s lease for airport construction and operations.
Bharti Realty Plans Aerocity Expansion For Two And Three Stages
Bharti Realty’s MD and CEO, SK Sayal, was quoted in the paper as stating that phases two and three will cost $2.5 billion and be financed by a mix of loan and equity.
Phase 2 will see the opening of Worldmark 4, 5, 6, and 7, which will have 3.5 million square feet of lettable space and the largest mall in India, spanning 2.8 million square feet, which is three times larger than the current malls in Vasant Kunj. Phase 2 is expected to start the following year and be finished by March 2027.
According to the TOI, subterranean parking would be available for more than 8,000 vehicles.
At the moment, Aerocity has 11 hotels including JW Marriott, Accor Group, and Roseate with 5,000 hotel rooms.
The Phase 2 Of Aerocity Incudes 7000 Luxury Hotel Rooms
After Phase 2 is finished, there will be 7,000 rooms spread over 16 hotels, including well-known properties like St Regis and JW Marriott Marquis. The area will be located between the Aerocity metro station and the current hotel center.
Phase 1 of Bharti’s commercial properties, which included Aerocity Worldmark Phase 1, attracted high-profile corporate entities such as Airbus, EY, IMF, KPMG, Emirates, and Pernod Ricard.
Two years ago, Brookfield, a globally recognized alternative investment management company, purchased a 51 per cent stake in Bharti for an enterprise value of Rs 5,000 crore.
The IGI Airport Will Bring Over 100 Million People A Year
After it is finished, Aerocity is expected to house two million professionals and draw at least thirty million visitors annually. With this spike in traffic, IGI Airport could handle over 100 million people a year and move closer to replacing T2 with the much bigger T4, which would bring the airport’s annual capacity to over 140 million passengers.
Furthermore, taking into account the labor force at the massive airport, which includes both cargo and passenger industries, the region is positioned to develop into a thriving center.
In response to this expansion, DIAL is building India’s first interstate multimodal transport hub close to the Aerocity metro station. This hub will probably integrate an interstate bus terminal, the upcoming Phase 4 line of Delhi Metro, and the Rapid Rail Transit System station, which will house the automated passenger mover and air train station.
DIAL and the Union Aviation Ministry are now debating how many stops the air train that would connect T1 on one side with T3/2 (or T4 in place of T2 toward the end of the decade) should have on it. While the government favors fewer stops to guarantee quick intra-terminal transfers, the airport operator is in favor of two air train stations in Aerocity.
What Are The Other Largest Malls In India?
The 2.5 million square foot LuLu Mall in Kochi is the biggest shopping center in India is established in 2013 by Oommen Chandy, the Chief Minister of Kerala at the time.
Next is Mumbai’s Phoenix Marketcity, which was founded in 2011 and spans 2.1 million square feet. Established in 2016, the DLF Mall of India in Noida spans over two million square feet. At 1.8 million square feet, Ambience Mall in Gurugram, which opened its doors in 2007, is one of the biggest retail centers in all of India.
Source-ET
