Press Release - The announcement of new project: CentralPlaza Nakhonratchasima

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Feb 25, 2014



CPN unveils its 28th shopping center, ‘CentralPlaza Nakhonratchasima

Bangkok - 25 February 2014: Today, Central Pattana Public Company Limited (CPN) announced a plan to drive its business growth with the launch of its latest retail development project enviably situated in an ideal location. CentralPlaza Nakhonratchasima, CPN's 28th shopping center project in Thailand, will be ready to capture the high purchasing power of residents in the Northeast region, which possesses superb growth potential. CentralPlaza Nakhonratchasima, touted as the largest lifestyle shopping complex, with the most extensive offerings in the province, also known among Thais as Korat, is a 7-billion-baht retail project that has a total gross floor area of 250,000 square meters on a land plot spanning 52 rais. It is ideally situated in a prime location in an area that will become the new central business district (CBD) area of Nakhon Ratchasima on the new section of the Friendship Highway (Mittraphap Mai Road), a route that will become the special inter-city highway ‘Motorway Bang Pa-in - Nakhon Ratchasima'. This road will be the most direct route for motorists traveling from Central Thailand to the Northeast in the future and the area is currently the fastest growing district of Nakhon Ratchasima. CentralPlaza Nakhonratchasima will be known for its ‘new, grand world-class design' concept under the theme ‘Harmony of Life', bringing together a diverse culture and surprising attractions that will be the first of their kind in Korat. Central Group will be bringing its wide array of retail subsidiaries together to highlight this project. There will be the first Central Department Store in the Northeast, having the most extensive anchor stores and more than 400 stores all ready to capture the opportunities presented by the high purchasing power of residents in the province known as a gateway to other provinces in the Northeast, and aiming for growth that will leapfrog over its rivals in the future.

Ms. Wallaya Chirathivat, CPN's Senior Executive Vice President of Business Development and Construction Management, said: "Over the years, CPN has become a major driving force behind Thailand's investment and economy and this year we plan to move forward with our plans to expand our business for continued growth momentum. CPN has always been aware of the Northeast region's excellent growth potential and has invested in several projects in strategic locations throughout the region. Now CPN is investing in a project located in one of the biggest and economically thriving provinces of the Northeast, which is Nakhon Ratchasima. This province is an important driving force of the country's economy and is also known as the gateway to the Northeast region. It not only connects domestic regions but will also be a vital link to neighboring countries in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) thanks to the government's infrastructure development investment plan. Under the national infrastructure development plan, there will be a high-speed train project to link Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima and also a double-track rail route is planned for the Northeast, which will greatly benefit Nakhon Ratchasima. In addition, a new motorway, linking the province with Bang Pa-In, is also planned. Furthermore, Nakhon Ratchasima is also an important industrial and agricultural hub of Thailand where renowned manufacturers produce goods like electronics and high-tech products. It is also an increasingly popular tourist destination while its economy and population have grown to rank among the largest in the country. Nakhon Ratchasima is also the largest province in Thailand, with a population of over 2.8 million and gross state product worth 202.014 billion baht - the highest value in the Northeast. The per capita income in Nakhon Ratchasima is at 71,405 baht per year and the province's economy has been growing at the rate of 8% per year, which is above country's average growth rate. Moreover, its metropolitan area and residential property sector have great potential to expand extremely rapidly in the future."

"By launching CentralPlaza Nakhonratchasima, CPN is setting a strong foothold in the province, which will be a solid basis for its bounding growth in the province. CPN's latest retail project, worth over 7 billion baht, aims to be the first and largest lifestyle shopping complex, with the most extensive offerings in the province, matching a design that is based on a world-class design concept and its prime location with great thriving potential. CPN foresees this location as a prime location that can become the new central business district area of Nakhon Ratchasima in the future. As CPN specializes in retail building designs, we intend for CentralPlaza Nakhonratchasima to become a unique shopping center that will also double as a new landmark of the province. Its world-class design conceptualized under the theme ‘Harmony of Life' is aimed at bringing together a diverse culture and different ways of life, using various colors of the four seasons to create an atmosphere optimized for fun shopping experiences. In addition, the shopping center is designed to be easy to navigate, uncluttered and well ventilated, enabling customers to see shops from various points of view. Meanwhile, the tenant shops will be grouped and well arranged to allow customers easy and convenient access," added Ms. Wallaya.

"This project is a project that is very significant to CPN and the Central Group, and therefore we will be bringing a wide array of excellent anchor stores, including the first Central Department Store in the Northeast region, which will carry popular brands liked by all as seen at CentralPlaza Lardprao. In addition, there will also be other great anchor stores such as PowerBuy, SuperSports, Tops Market, B2S, OfficeMate and Baan & Beyond. There will also be around 400 shops, with a fashion hub consisting of fabulous international and Thai brands in an area spanning over 11,000 square meters. Also, there will be a perfect outdoor hangout destination for all, an impeccable outdoor restaurant zone, a concert area and a night market area. Customers will also get to enjoy the best entertainment complex and the newest cinema complex in the province while families and children will have great fun at the Fun Planet. CentralPlaza Nakhonratchasima will become a national-standard event center with over 10,000 square meters of activity area in front of its building and a convention hall spanning over 4,500 square meters, which will undoubtedly bring lots of new, vibrant energy to the province. Its parking area has the capacity to accommodate over 3,000 cars and more than 1,500 motorcycles. There will also be surprising attractions, which will be the first of their kind in Korat," said Ms. Wallaya.

CentralPlaza Nakhonratchasima aims to respond well to customers' different needs and attract the affluent people residing in Nakhon Ratchasima and its adjacent provinces. Nakhon Ratchasima itself has a population of over 2.8 million while those residing within the 120-kilometre radius of CentralPlaza Nakhonratchasima or within a one hour's drive from the adjacent provinces (i.e. Buriram and Chaiyaphum) account for more than 3.4 million people, plus 5 million tourists traveling each year through the province. CentralPlaza Nakhonratchasima's main target groups are those belonging to the B+ segment or higher. The construction work for CentralPlaza Nakhonratchasima will start in May 2014 and the shopping center is scheduled to open officially in early 2016. When CentralPlaza Nakhonratchasima opens, it is expected to bring in shopper traffic of over 50,000-60,000 people on weekdays and 70,000-80,000 on weekends and public holidays.