Japanese retailer AEON MALL began construction on Sunday for a new shopping mall in the port city of Hai Phong, its third outlet in northern Vietnam.

The AEON MALL Hai Phong Le Chan covers an area of 9.3 hectares and is expected to serve as a mixed-use complex, the Japanese company said at the groundbreaking ceremony attended by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The Hai Phong facility, the sixth of its kind in Vietnam, is scheduled to be opened in 2020 and expected to create around 2,500 jobs.

The shopping venue is to attract more than 13 million visitors each year from not only Hai Phong but also such nearby provinces as Quang Ninh, Hai Duong and Thai Binh, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

The groundbreaking ceremony for AEON MALL Hai Phong Le Chan was held on the occasion of the 63rd anniversary of the establishment of the northern Vietnamese city.

“We are extremely honored to be one of the key projects to celebrate [this occasion],” Iwamura Yasutsugu, general director of AEON MALL Vietnam, said in a statement.

“AEON MALL Hai Phong Le Chan is committed to connecting with the life of the community and helping Hai Phong people enjoy the best of their lives.”

AEON MALL Vietnam, which operates two outlets each in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and another in the southern province of Binh Duong, plans to have a total of 20 locations in the country by 2025.

The Japanese company opened its maiden Vietnamese outlet, AEON Tan Phu, in Ho Chi Minh City in 2014.

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