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Multi Development's Turkish arm has started construction of its 11th mall project in Turkey and said it is planning five more shopping centres in the country.

Scheduled to open in September 2013, Forum Gaziantep - Multi's first in southeastern Turkey - aims to become the most powerful attraction in Gaziantep with its location at the junction of the ancient city centre and modern residential areas. Around 60% of Forum Gaziantep, featuring a total of 44,500 m² rental area has been already leased out.

Forum Gaziantep, representing an investment of EUR 120 mln, is being financed by Finansbank.

Multi will be investing close to EUR 700 mln in total in Forum Gaziantep and Forum Adana, Forum Diyarbakir and Forum Çanakkale, where construction is starting this year. Forum Çorum and Forum Elazig are already being constructed.

'On top of the 10 successful Forums today, we will, in three more years, have created and be running 16,' said Hans van Veggel, founder and hairman of Multi Corporation. 'This is testimony to our confidence in the Turkish market and Turkish people’s appetite for quality retail and lifestyle experiences.'

Multi Development Turkey CEO Hulusi Belgü noted that, including the new projects, the company will have a total rentable area of 1 million m² in the country. 'This corresponds to approximately 15% of the sector,' he added. In total, the company will have invested as much as EUR 4.2 bn in the country.