By KHT Staff. AI illustration image may not reflect the appearance of the completed projects.
KAOHSIUNG — At least six major malls or landmark retail projects are expected to open in Kaohsiung over the next five years, as transport-oriented development and high-tech investment reshape the city’s commercial map, the Commercial Times reported.
The new projects are expected to shift Kaohsiung’s department store market away from traditional single-district shopping areas and toward a multi-center model built around rail and MRT hubs.
The first major opening is expected to be Mitsui LaLaport Kaohsiung (三井LaLaport高雄), which is scheduled to open as early as the end of this year.
The mall will have approximately 62,000 ping of total floor space and is expected to feature 270 brands. It will also partner with Hi-Lai Foods (漢來美食), one of southern Taiwan’s major restaurant groups.
The Taiwan Railways Administration’s Fongshan Station development, known as Sky Fong City (空中鳳城), is expected to open in the second half of next year.
The project will combine department store space, cinemas, and youth entrepreneurship facilities in a green-building complex, creating what developers hope will become a new commercial landmark in eastern Kaohsiung.
Together with LaLaport, the Fongshan project could significantly strengthen retail and entertainment options in the city’s eastern districts.
Other projects expected to open between this year and next year include the new Kaohsiung Station retail building and Southeast MiLe PLAZA (東南米樂PLAZA) in the Asia New Bay Area.
In northern Kaohsiung, the Fubon Aozihdi development project (富邦凹子底開發案) is expected to be completed in 2028.
The large BOT project in the Aozihdi area will feature 47-story twin towers, direct links to MRT Aozihdi Station and the light rail, as well as a new Hanshin Department Store flagship location.
The project is being developed in cooperation with Mitsubishi Estate and is also expected to include southern Taiwan’s first urban-style aquarium.
Further north, the R17 World Games Station joint development project, won by Radium Life Tech (日勝生), is scheduled for completion in 2030.
The project, known as World Games Q Square (世運京站), will be designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and is expected to include Q Square retail space.
The development will target growing demand from workers in the semiconductor, AI, and technology sectors in Nanzih and Zuoying.
The report said Kaohsiung’s commercial growth is being driven by major technology investment, the emerging semiconductor “S corridor” and transport-oriented development around MRT, light rail and railway stations.
