A retail network comprising over 1,000 supermarkets and shopping centres is to be built in Hanoi by 2020 to serve the needs of its citizens, Vice Director of Hanoi’s Department of Industry and Trade Tran Thi Phuong Lan has said.

Accordingly, under the trade development programme, 988 supermarkets and 64 shopping centres of various kinds will be built in the capital by 2020, funded by foreign capital, domestic funds and government capital.

Lan said the basements and ground floors of existing buildings can be converted into trade centres, stating that supermarkets and shopping centres would not be built on entirely new plots of land in the inner-city areas of Hanoi.

The city would develop traditional markets into shopping centres, she added.

The project is part of Hanoi’s socio-economic development plan for 2020, with a vision to 2030. The scale of the supermarket network will be determined by population density and distance from other retailers.

The department will reassess the city’s infrastructure after two years of implementation to have a clearer overview of future development needs.

Hanoi’s population is expected to reach 9.4 million, with a per capita income of US$7,500 by 2020 and US$17,000 by 2030. In the next ten years, the city will expand its wholesale and retail system by 864 supermarkets and 36 shopping centers.

VNA/VNN