By Kate Lim

THE reopening of the underpass between Orchard MRT and Wisma Atria after nearly three years of closure has boosted pedestrian traffic to the mall's basement by over 100 per cent from a year ago, claims Wisma Atria's owner Starhill Global Reit.

The underpass had been used by 700,000 shoppers a month, but it was forced to close in October 2006 because of the construction of Ion Orchard.

Ever since the closure, Wisma Atria's footfall has suffered, with retailers reporting up to a 40 per cent slip in business.

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