The area surrounding the Expo Axis will reopen as a commercial center by next year under the partnership of the Expo Shanghai Group and Shanghai Bailian Group, the companies confirmed with a strategic cooperation agreement signed Thursday at the China Pavilion.
Covering 130,000 square meters inside the Expo Park, the commercial center will introduce itself to the public as a place for tourism, business, leisure and shopping when its first phase is complete by May, before opening the rest of the area, including dining and entertainment facilities, by the end of next year.
The nearly 160-million-yuan ($469 million) investment is expected to bring in annual revenues of 3 billion yuan after its first five years of operation, the companies said Thursday.
“These revenues are at the higher end of the medium range for large-scale commercial city centers,” Ding Hao, director of the Expo Shanghai Group, a State-owned developer for the Expo Park, said at a press conference Thursday. “It’s been designed this way to serve ordinary residents.”
With plans to build a five-star hotel in Section B, this part of the commercial center will focus on business, said Ding, adding that 13 central government enterprises with more than 50 billion yuan of registered capital have already signed contracts to move their headquarters or offices to the area. Adjacent to Section B, the lot for Section A will cater to private and overseas companies, he said.
Global Times