The ground-breaking ceremony.

BÌNH DƯƠNG — Becamex Tokyu Co Ltd, a joint venture between Việt Nam’s Becamex IDC Corp and Japan’s Tokyu Corporation, began construction of their first shopping centre named Sora Gardens SC in Bình Dương New City in the southern province of Bình Dương on Tuesday.

The mall sprawls over 5,000 sq.m in Hòa Phú Ward, Thủ Dầu Một City at the gateway to Bình Dương New City. Apart from facilities such as retail space, restaurants and a cinema, the centre has also been chosen by Japan’s supermarket chain AEON to launch the first Compact General Merchandise Store model in Việt Nam.

The same day, the joint venture also inaugurated an apartment building called Sora Gardens 2, which it developed in partnership with Mitsubishi Group. The Sora Gardens 2 covers a total area of 84,000 sq.m with 557 hi-end apartments on 24 floors, meeting Japanese quality standards with green living space and quality facilities.

In the near future, Becamex Tokyu will embark on other projects in Bình Dương New City such as Sora Gardens park, expansion of the Hikari Food Court, Midori Park commercial housing area, Việt Hoa International School, and a bus rapid transit linking Bình Dương New City with HCM City’s Suối Tiên.

Becamex Tokyu was established in March 2012. Tokyu Corporation is one of the major and long-standing Japanese groups operating in railway, transportation, retail, culture, education, and most notably urban development. — VNS