Malls in Gujarat witness highest rise in rentals

Though Ahmedabad mall space vacancy at 33 percent is highest

in the country, the city also saw 7 percent reduction in mall space vacancy, highest in the nation. However, in 2012, mall space vacancy too was maximum in Ahmedabad, says a Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) report.

The rental mall space in Vastrapur area of Ahmedabad increased by 60 percent in the last one year, the highest among eight major cities of India, says the report on supply of mall space in the country. In 2012, the total mall space supply in eight major cities — Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, NCR and Pune was 34.40 lakh sq. ft.

The report, released recently further says that Ahmedabad witnessed the highest average increase in mall rental of 23 percent over the last one year; followed by Kolkata at 12 percent. Pune saw a decline of 4 percent owing to a slowdown in retail activity and an oversupply of mall space in certain micro-markets.

Average mall vacancy across cities stood at 20 percent, a decline of 1 percent over last year, partly aided by the large deferment of new malls. Even in Ahmedabad, there was no addition of mall space in 2012. Though mall vacancy in the city was at 33 percent — the highest in the country —increased leasing activity led to a drop of 7 percent in vacancy.