Let the story about this abandoned shopping mall located in Bangkok begin here. The New World Mall was constructed, but was forced to close in 1997 because they failed to meet building safety regulations. It sat unused and vacant for 2 years before a fire in 1999 destroyed the roof leaving the building wide open to the elements. To get rid of mosquitos, the locals came up with a great idea – to breed freshwater Catfish and Koi fish in the mall’s water so they could eat the insects. The results are simply astounding. Take a look at what happens when an abandoned mall is left to rot.
Because nobody was taking charge of the situation, the building slowly started to fill up with rainwater, which in turn caused a massive mosquito problem for the local community.
So what do you do when you have water, an unused building, and a ton of mosquitoes?
Well obviously you bring in a whole bunch of freshwater Tilapia fish to eat these insects.
Nearby business owners and residents were the first to introduce the fish, but in addition to the Tilapia, they also introduced catfish, koi fish, mango fish, goldfish, and silver fish.
Now the mosquito population is under control and because of this unusual use of a building, tourists are starting to visit The New World Mall to see this.
Thanks to these visitors, it’s improving business for all businesses near the mall, including local merchants who are selling fish to consumers outside of the mall.
Watch a video tour below:
Would you want to go fishing here or do you prefer to fish in the great outdoors? Either way, it’s kind of cool that they were able to use this abandoned mall for something other than just vacant space. What are your thoughts?