The Aeon Phu Ly Shopping Mall project is located in Phu Ly ward and has a total floor area of approximately 26,264 square meters.

The facility will feature a main shopping mall and supporting facilities, including parking space for nearly 300 cars and 1,400 motorbikes. It is scheduled to open in 2027. The project received investment approval in late 2023.

Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony last Saturday, Tezuka Daisuke, Aeon's representative in Vietnam and CEO of Aeon Vietnam, said the project was expected to contribute to Ninh Binh's economic development and create more than 800 jobs once operational.

Vietnam remains Aeon's top priority market in Southeast Asia, Tezuka said, adding that the group aims to triple the scale of its operations in Vietnam by 2030.

Aeon also intends to allocate about 60% of its total ASEAN investment budget to Vietnam, reflecting the country's growing importance to the Japanese retailer.

The company plans to pursue growth through three main pillars: accelerating expansion across different retail formats, strengthening product development and supply chains, and building an integrated Aeon ecosystem.

The retailer opened Aeon Mall Danang Thanh Khe in central Danang city in July and plans to launch two additional malls, increasing its nationwide network from seven to 10 locations within two years.

In July last year, Ninh Binh, Ha Nam, and Nam Dinh provinces were merged to form the new Ninh Binh which borders Hung Yen, Phu Tho, Thanh Hoa, Hanoi, and the East Sea. Ninh Binh now covers 3,940 square kilometers and has a population of over 4.4 million people.

As of May, Ninh Binh had 750 valid foreign-invested projects with total registered capital of $15 billion, according to local authorities.

Ninh Binh is home to the UNESCO-recognized Trang An Landscape Complex, the first mixed cultural and natural heritage site in Vietnam to gain such recognition.