Two Rivers, the newest mega mall in Kenya, finally opened its doors to shoppers on February 14, several months behind schedule.

It is still early days to gauge the mall’s success in an already crowded field, but visitor enthusiasm was high and not least because of the marvel of the size. At 62,000 square metres, this the largest single shopping area in East Africa. The Hub Karen is 38,500 square feet.

Two Rivers is a development of Kenyan investment firm Centum and the Chinese aviation and engineering corporation, AVIC International.

Its location in Runda, a prestigious district — close to several embassies and the United Nations headquarters in Africa at Gigiri — notwithstanding, factors such as choice of retailers, tenant mix and amusements can give an indication of the road ahead.

For such a huge retail space, the choice of an anchor tenant to drive in the footfall is vital, and the management has contracted French retailer Carrefour, a global hypermart that entered this region in 2016 and is challenging the dominance of Kenyan supermarket chain Nakumatt. Interestingly, Chandarana Foodplus, another local chain that operates medium-sized supermarkets, is also present at Two Rivers.

With more than 150 shops, restaurants, banks and other services offering local and international lifestyle brands, familiar brands can be seen at every turn, but also conspicuous are some new high-profile retailers such as Swarovski jewellers, Attibassi Coffee of Italy, the indoor entertainment brand Magic Planet and LC Waikiki, the Turkish clothing company.

Two Rivers is situated at the northern end of Nairobi County making it a long commute for many city residents. Access is through Limuru Road, a key city road that is very busy on weekdays.

The other entry is from the Northern Bypass, a highway that circumvents central Nairobi and provides quicker access from the northern suburbs and the neighbouring county of Kiambu.

The shopping mall is only one part of the complex. Extension plans will encompass an office tower, a residential park, a city lodge and a five star hotel that could be a game changer in what some believe is an overdeveloped retail market.