Here is yet another reason for Kochi to go global. With the rise in shopping complexes and malls that have sprung in every nook and corner, Kochi has enough and more reasons to smile. Now, we will very soon have the Lulu shopping mall hitting our city, mostly by the mid of 2011. There is no Kochiite who has missed out the ‘budding’ Lulu mall that is being constructed in Edapally. Kochittes, ever since the edifice of the mall was begun, has been all excited and thrilled about Lulu coming to Kochi.

When 5 star hotels like JW Marriott are setting up their hotel inside the mall, you can see a ‘changed’ Edapally soon. “It’s the shopping part that thrills me more than anything. I’ll get branded stuff and don’t have to go to one corner of Kochi to the other to get the stuff. Also, if I’am going with my kids, I’ll have good restaurants and coffee shops where we can go have a proper meal. Lulu will change the face of Kochi”, says Maya Kumar, home-maker who resides in Kochi. Let’s hope to have an assortment of shops, multiplex, restaurants, coffee shops and spas, all under one roof and with maximum comfort. Let the wait begin Kochi!

Movie lovers have good news. Its not even a month since Cinemax opened Kerala’s multiplex in Oberon mall, Kochi, and PVR has already announced its expansion plans in Kochi. PVR, a major retail entertainment company announced yesterday that they are launching a multiplex in Kochi along with Surat and Pune in the coming one year.

From the information Kochivibe has received, PVR Cinemas will be launching in Lulu Mall. Kochivibe has also information that Essel group owned Fun Cinemas has procured space in Gold Souk. Soon Kochi will have a presence of 3 out of the 4 major multiplex chains in India. The only other company not to have made a move (or not made the move public yet) is Reliance owned Big Cinemas (formerly known as Adlabs).

Remember the times when you waited for long stretches of time (Shenoys ) in caged queues suffering from the next persons B.O? Remember the time you got into the theater and complained about the air conditioning not working? Remember those grouchy employees at the theater who made you feel they are doing YOU a favor? Well.. Say good bye to all of them. And say hello to some good service. We hope Cinemax and PVR and Fun Cinemas will give the the theaters in Kochi a run for their money. Kochi deserves it!

Lulu has announced that construction of the mall in Cochin is on track and will open to public before December 2010. Here are some pictures, videos and facts about this project.

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• The entire project takes up 17 acres of land
• Total project investment is 1,200 crores
• Parking space for 3000 vehicles
• Famous architect WS Atkins (who also designed Burj Al Arab & the Jumeirah Beach Hotel) designed the project
• 300 national and international brands
• A 7 or a 9 screen multiplex
• A 10,000 square feet children amusement area
• Bowling alley
• 6 fine dining restaurants
• 50,000 square feet food court with 18 outlets and coffee shops
• Food court can seat 3500 customers
• Marriot hotel with 300 5-star rooms, in the complex
• Commercial tower exclusively for airline/aviation companys to complement Kochi’s tremendous growth in the sector.
• A retail management school to cope with the shortage of skilled man power in the field
• 6000 direct employment + another 20000 will benefit indirectly
• Expected to attract 25 lakh tourists every year

Check out the video about the Lulu Mall Kochi

[podcast format="video"]http://kochivibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/lulu-mall-kochi-cochin.flv[/podcast]