The Centaurus is a mixed use

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...

in the city of

Islamabad, Pakistan Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

. The project includes a 36-floor hotel, three 23-floor residential and office towers and a four-story shopping mall. It has Al Fateh Cash & Carry on ground floor and food courts on top floor.

Construction

Designed A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

by British architectural firm WS Atkins, it consists of a four-storey

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

, a five-star hotel, two residential towers, and a corporate tower three

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ri ...

s, containing corporate offices, residential apartments, and a hotel. Centaurus Mövenpick Hotel is under-construction and was expected to open in the first quarter of 2018. The estimated cost for building the complex was US$100 million. The Centaurus Mall has four stories and comprises more than 250 shops.

Entertainment

The Centaurus Mall also includes entertainment in the form of a play area for children, known as "Fun City", and a

movie theatre A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

known as "The Centaurus Cineplex", which shows some of the latest

Lollywood Lollywood ( ur, , translit=lâli vuḍ) refers to Pakistan's film industry based in Lahore, previously the base for both Punjabi and Urdu language film production. Lahore has been the center of Pakistani cinema since the partition of ...

and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

movies. Both the play area and the cinema are located on the fourth floor of the mall.

Food court

The

food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dinner. ...

is located on the fourth floor of the mall, and comprises several local as well as international fast food chains. International coffee shops are also located throughout the mall.

Entry fee controversy

In what it called a move to avoid ‘over-crowding’, Centaurus Mall in a public notice said visitors will have to buy a coupon to enter the mall, which is adjustable against shopping at the mall on the same day. The public notice listed 23 types of people who will not have to purchase the entry coupons. Those exempted include all women and children under 12, senior citizens, lawmakers and executives, diplomats and foreigners, journalists, and lawyers, members of country clubs, registered engineers, doctors, and teachers. Further, the notice said, “famous players of hockey, cricket, football and golf” and “celebrities” do not have to purchase the entry coupon.

October 2022 fire

The shopping center at the Centaurus Mall caught fire on October 9, 2022. The fire was visible from outside the building during lunch time, while reports on social media also showed visible flame in the food court of the mall. The Capital Development Authority claimed the fire to be under control after two hours of response. The shopping center and nearby residential structures were closed for an audit to be made on their structural integrity. The fire broke out in the Monal restaurant and was reported around 4 pm. The efforts of firefighters extinguished the fire preventing extensive damage to the interior. Navy and Air Force personnel also took part to cooling the building.

Gallery

Cantaurus Shopping Mall Islamabad.jpg, Cantaurus Shopping Mall Islamabad Faisal Avenue Interchange, Islamabad.jpg, The Faisal Avenue Interchange in Blue Area, Islamabad. The Centaurus is visible in the Background Faisal Mosque in the background of Centaurus Mall.jpg, Aerial view of The Centaurus

References

External links

* {{Islamabad Shopping malls in Pakistan Hotels in Pakistan Apartment buildings in Pakistan Residential skyscrapers in Pakistan Skyscrapers in Islamabad Blue Area Shopping malls in Islamabad