Inside Delhi's ghost malls

A shadow of their former selves, these shopping centres are struggling to stay relevant

- RISHIKA AGARWAL

A midst the bustling urban landscape of South Delhi, a once-vibrant shopping hub now lies desolate, a haunting reminder of its former glory. Spanning 35 acres, Ansal Plaza, one of the oldest malls in the region, today echoes with emptiness.

Located in Andrews Ganj, it opened in 1999, and for years, it drew hundreds of people to its three-storey Shoppers Stop on weekdays and weekends alike.

You had to be lucky to find a table at its McDonald's outlet. Young couples, groups of friends, and families with children sitting on the steps of its amphitheatre, with ice-cream cones or crispy corn cups, were a common sight. Not anymore.

Ansal Plaza's decline paints a grim portrait of neglect, and hints at a larger trend plaguing several shopping centres across the country. The plaza shares its plight with many other shopping centres across the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), which have come to be called "ghost malls" - those with more than 40 per cent of retail space vacant.

The Grand Venice Mall in Noida, with its Italian aesthetic, stands as another striking example. Its gondola rides, bowling alleys, and snow-themed parks are no longer the draw they once were. Similarly, the JMD Kohinoor Mall in Greater Kailash struggles to find its place amidst shifting consumer preferences. According to a recent report by Knight Frank, a real estate consultancy firm, ghost shopping centres increased by 59 per cent in 2023 compared to the year before. Delhi NCR has the largest share of such shopping centres among Tier 1 cities, with 5.3 million square feet (msf), up 58 per cent from 3.4 msf in 2022. The decline of these malls is a result of various factors, including oversaturation, changing consumer behaviour, poor management, strata ownership, and obsolete design or concept.