CentralWorld Plaza, Bangkok

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Central World Plaza

CentralWorld Plaza is the largest mall in Bangkok. It covers an area of 1,024,000 square meters of space. CentralWorld is located at the Ratchaprasong intersection, between Rama I Road and Ratchadamri Road. It opened in 2006 after three years of design and renovation. CentralWorld takes over from the 300,000 square meter 8-storey mall that occupied the site, called the World Trade Center, which opened in 1990. The Central Group - which runs Thailand's Central Department Stores - acquired the World Trade Center mall from the Wang Petchaboon Group in 2002 and renamed it CentralWorld.

CentralWorld is just a short walk from its rival, the Siam Paragon, a rival mall. Anticipating the opening of Siam Paragon, CentralWorld embarked on a massive make-over. The renovation project expanded retail space by more than double, from 300,000 square meters to 800,000 square meters. Even before the entire project was completed, CentralWorld held its "official opening" on 21 July, 2006. It positions itself for the middle class, as compared to the upmarket Siam Paragon.

Attached to CentralWorld is CentralWorld Tower, an office block. Originally planned to be 63 storeys, work on the office block stopped following the Asian financial crisis. When construction resumed in 2003, a new design made it a 45-storey structure, completed in 2005.

Getting there

CentralWorld is very centrally located along Rama I Road, the main shopping street in Bangkok, between the Chit Lom and Siam Square Skytrain stations. Both the Sukhumvit Line and Silom Line Skytrains pass in front of it. An elevated walkway above Rama I Road connects these two stations. You can also reach it by boat from Khlong Saen Saeb. Pratunam Pier is just 5 minutes walk away on Ratchadamri Road.