The biggest Palestinian shopping mall is scheduled to open in the Gaza Strip in mid-June.
This will be the second shopping mall to open in the Gaza Strip in a year. Last July, Palestinians opened a two-story mall that includes a supermarket, international clothing stores, a food court, beauty products, a children’s playground and a restaurant.
The modern three-story complex is the first of its kind in the Palestinian territories, said Ehab al-Issawi, executive director of the Al-Hayat Tureed Company that owns the mall.
He said that the 3,000 squaremeter shopping mall is located near the Haidar Abdel Shafi Square west of Gaza City.
Issawi told the Palestinian news agency Safa that construction work at the new mall was almost complete. He said that Palestinian engineers and architects have been working on the project since August last year.
Issawi added that despite the shortage of building materials caused by the blockade on the Gaza Strip, the work at the site continued without disruption.
Issawi explained that the first floor would house a huge supermarket that would consist of various departments offering food and household items as well as stationary.
The second floor would have many clothes and gift shops, while the third floor would become home to a large restaurant, a modern coffee shop, a cinema and entertainment sites for children.
The Safa article mentions that it includes a movie theatre that can play 3-D movies, and that the mall will be importing goods from Europe, Turkey and China, while keeping competitive prices.
The mall will have a website to enable shopping from home as well as to make reservations at the cinema and restaurants.
Here is what it looks like while it is under construction:
This is much bigger than the Gaza mall I lamented over last year in my most popular YouTube video:
(h/t many people)