March 21 (Interfax) - The Swedish furniture retailer Ikea has begun construction of a $250 million shopping mall in The 150 square meter mall will be located in Southern Moscow (Teply Stan), next to the Ikea store there, general director of Ikea Russia, Lennard Dahlgren, said at a press conference in Moscow Wednesday. Apart from the Ikea store, the mall's main lessee will be the French hypermarket chain Auchan (24,000 square meters). The mall will also include the store Sdelay Sam (do-it-yourself) with floor-space of 16,000 to 20,000 square meters. The mall will hold another 200 different stores and contracts have been signed with 80% of these. The shopping mall will also include several coffee shops, restaurants, a cinema, a skating ring, a hotel and parking facilities. A similar mall will later be built next to the other Ikea in Khimki (Moscow region. Ikea continues with its plans to build a third store in downtown Moscow and is holding talks with the city government, Dahlgren said. This will be one of the company's biggest stores in the world with floor space of over 50,000 square meters. It will include three floors underground, three floors of underground parking, and a trading gallery. The store is expected to open in December 2003. Among Ikea's further plans, Dahlgren mentioned the construction of a warehouse in northern Moscow region, which is set to begin this summer and should be ready by the spring of 2003. The company is also considering building its stores in Eastern and Western Regional projects include the possible construction of one or two $45 million stores in St Petersburg, starting in 2004, which Ikea is currently negotiating. Ikea could also open stores in ten other Russian cities. Ikea sales in Russia totaled $240 million in 2001 and are forecast at $400 million in 2002.