Ansals to build mall in Mohali

Rs 100-crore project to be designed as a submarine, over 8.5 lakh sq feet area

Replicating the experience of mega malls in the Punjab region, Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd is coming up with a multiplex and shopping mall at Mohali.

Sharing a common boundary wall with the mall will be a 100-room business hotel.

With an investment of Rs 100 crore and development over 8.5 lakh square feet area work on the project will start in the first quarter of 2006 according to company officials and delivered to the public in 24 months.

Under the Ansal Plaza brandname the mall will be designed as a UFO or submarine model and will not be a high rise retail but will be spread across.

"Mohali is an important industrial hub for Punjab and it is the catchment area of Chandigarh and Panchkula where the high disposable income group is our target segment," said Ashish Jerath, Deputy General Manager, Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Limited.

The two-storey mall will have two atrium and each floor will have anchor stores according to Jerath. "With over 100 retail outlets in the mall a proper filtering of brands and zoning will enable convenient shopping to the customers walking in," he said.

With a 5 screen multiplex along with a platinum and gold lounge the Ansal Mall will have a lot to offer to the Punjabi crowd, where presently there is lack of organized retailing and the mall culture has yet to begin.

Spread over 20,000 sq feet the food court will be able to accommodate 250 customers at time and will offer14-15 eating counters. In addition there will be 8-9 casual dining area and 3 fine dining area.

Adjoining the mall will be a 100-room business-hotel providing facilities like a convention hall, business centre, meeting rooms and party hall. "The discussion is on with a renowned chain of hotel which will cover one lakh sq feet area," stated Jerath.

Addressing the problem of parking the mall will have both an underground and a surface parking over a 2.5 lakh sq feet area. "At a time 1200 cars can be parked in the underground parking and 200 cars in the surface parking area,"he said. With the upcoming IT city projects in Mohali and Chandigarh the company is looking for a streaming good business .