Guwahati, Oct. 17: The mall boom just got bigger in the Northeast.

Kishore Biyani-promoted Pantaloon Retail Ltd is bringing its flagship brands, the upmarket Pantaloons and the Walmart-inspired budget chain of stores called Big Bazaar, to Guwahati. The mega project is expected to catapult the Assam capital to the league of metros in terms of mall penetration.

While the Pantaloons brand has always been popular with discerning customers in the metros, the real crowdpuller has been Big Bazaar, with its medium-priced range of everything from clothes to utensils. The Guwahati editions of Big Bazaar and Pantaloons are part of a project to develop a five lakh square feet mall with an additional three lakh square feet exclusively for parking.

The entire mall, being built on a 24-bigha plot at the Assam Flour Mill (AFM) complex at Bhangagarh along GS Road (artist’s impression on left by Uday Deb), will be leased out to Pantaloon Retail Ltd.

“We have signed an agreement with Pantaloon Retail for its first outlet in the city. The shopping mall will also have a five-screen multiplex and parking space for about 2,000 cars,” one of the promoters of the project said.

The group behind the venture is the same one that has tied up with the Hyatt Group for a five-star hotel with a built-up area of over two lakh square feet and a two lakh square feet air-conditioned office complex on the same plot.

Confirming the mall project, managing director and chief executive officer of Kshitij Investment, Shishir Baijal, said Pantaloon Retail was “very excited” about the project. Kshitij Investment is the asset management arm of the company.

“We are planning to have a large presence in Guwahati as it is a big market that will grow bigger,” Baijal told The Telegraph over phone from Mumbai.

Sources said Pantaloon Retail was also looking at Shillong, Aizawl and Kohima as prospective markets.