Sharjah is preparing to host what is being dubbed the largest hypermarket in the Middle East. A Dh100 million expansion at Al Taawun Mall that will raise leasable area by a massive 139 per cent and a link-up with French major Groupe Casino, which owns the Geant Hypermarket chain, will make this happen, officials said yesterday.

"Over 200,000 square feet of the expanded area will be occupied by just one outlet - Geant Hypermarket," said Sheikh Tariq bin Faisal Al Qasimi, chairman of the Sharjah Economic Development Department and head of the mall management.

"We understand that Geant at Al Taawun will be the biggest announced hypermarket in the UAE and, possibly, the Middle East." The GCC franchisee for the French chain is Bahrain-based Fucom International, whose CEO, Mohammed Adil, signed the MoU for the Geant outlet with Sheikh Tariq yesterday.

"Sharjah has not had too many shopping centres, but this is set to change with the establishment of at least three major malls shortly," Sheikh Tariq said.

"Studies we have conducted indicate the overall retail market is currently Dh2.7 billion and set to grow to Dh4.7 billion a decade hence. Significantly, 55 per cent of this market is accounted for by foodstuff sales."

Southern Sharjah and its environs are emerging as prime residential, business and tourism growth areas, so the mall location will be ideal to tap into these markets.

"There is a ready customer base of one million residents in its catchment area, and road traffic near the mall is among the region's busiest," he said.

Adil said the outlet would have around 70 checkout counters, "more than any other now in the UAE". Fucom's ambitious regional expansion envisages 10 Geant hypermarts in the GCC over the next decade, of which at least three will be in the UAE. The company's investment in each will average Dh50 million, he said.

"Our Geant outlet in Bahrain will open in March, and the Sharjah facility will be our second GCC hypermart. Following on will be outlets in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, three in Saudi Arabia and then Dubai or Kuwait," he said.

Earlier, Robert Pinault, director of Groupe Casino, said the retail chain employs 84,000 people in 12 countries, operates 120 hypermarkets and has an annual turnover of over $25 billion.