Central Mall Ubon Ratchathani

There have long been rumors of a Central mall coming to Ubon. My wife heard them as far back as 2001 but more recently it seems concrete plans are in the works. The Nation had a report in June 2011 about Central’s ambitious expansion plans, and Ubon Ratchathani is listed as one of the 10 likely locations; all of which are to be completed by the end of 2015. If construction in Ubon begins in 2012 as discussed on the Guide Ubon forums, it may be done much sooner. The re-construction of Central World has proved they have access to plenty of cash and an army of construction laborers.

Usually the land next to Big C is mentioned as the likely location. This is still likely based on The Nation and all previous rumors. However, the latest rumor I hear from someone working in the Ubon area real estate business says Central has purchased a large chunk of land on Hwy 226 (road to Sisaket) near the intersection with the Ubon ring road. I would take this info with a grain of salt but it is an interesting rumor. She also said it would be completed in 2 years. The large furniture store next to Makro is almost finished with a massive new store and there is a brand new moobaan near that intersection so perhaps they know something I don’t, but I have a hard time believing Central would put it that far outside the city center. Cash for land near Big C probably isn’t a problem, there’s an explosion of moobaans and business North and East of Big C, and Chayangkhun Road is the main artery for public transportation. It would be hard to ignore the 20,000 or so students on the short stretch between Big C and Rajabhat. Central would also compete more directly with SK and Sunee at this location.

I called Central Pattana Plc. in Bangkok to ask for details and got nowhere. Like it or not, a Central mall in Ubon is probably inevitable in the future. I for one, would certainly appreciate having a Sizzler in town.