HÀ NỘI — The South Korean Lotte conglomerate will be building a new shopping mall near Hà Nội’s West Lake, according to The Korea Herald.

The mall will span 7.3 hectares within the approximately 200,000-sq.m complex, together with another department store, a supermarket and a cinema, all to be directly operated by Lotte affiliates.

The South Korean English-language daily said construction is set to begin in the first half of 2017, for completion in 2020.

The company declined to provide Việt Nam News with additional details about the project, saying details would be sent to local media later in the process.

Last month, the Đầu Tư (Investment) online newspaper reported that the project, previously known as Ciputra Hà Nội Mall and owned by the Citra West Lake City Development Company Limited, was acquired by Lotte early this year. It was started in 2007 with an estimated investment of US$2 billion but has been stalled for various reasons.

The total investment capital of the new Lotte project is expected to reach nearly $300 million.

The Lotte Group has invested $400 million in the 65-storey Lotte Center Hà Nội mall, which is currently the second tallest building in the capital.

The giant corporation plans to expand its retail operations in Việt Nam through mergers and acquisitions and plans 60 shopping malls in the country by 2020, a five-fold increase, according to Nikkei.

The company has 285 Lotte shopping centres in Asian countries including China, Indonesia and South Korea, and it views Việt Nam as one of the fastest-growing retail markets in the region.

In October 2016, Lotte Mart launched its e-commerce channel in Việt Nam, following the introduction of Lotte Shopping TV in 2012.

Besides providing South Korean products to Vietnamese consumers, Lotte plans to export Vietnamese products like coffee, dried fruit, wooden artifacts and ceramics back to its home market. — VNS