Iran's biggest mall taking shape in Isfahan

Kuwait

IRAN is in the midst of a shopping mall boom. Several malls, some of them catering only for luxury brands, have opened in the capital, Teheran, in the past few years. Several more are under construction, with the biggest concentration being in the city's well-heeled northern neighbourhoods. Yet none of those can match the size and ambition of the Isfahan City Centre mall on the outskirts of Iran's former capital.

The man who built it, Masoud Sarrami, says it is the largest shopping mall in the Middle East after the Dubai Mall in the United Arab Emirates. It contains a university, a museum, an indoor theme park and a wedding centre. When completed in 2016, Mr Sarrami expects Isfahan City Centre will also be surrounded by a five-star hotel, a healthcare "city" and a financial district. According to Mr Sarrami, the total cost of the entire project has been US$1 billion - most of it his own money with the remainder split between an investor in the emirate of Ras al-Khaymah and an investor based in Switzerland. BLOOMBERG