Two Greek-owned companies, Epsilon and Omilos, will invest 140 million euros over the following years, to build two shopping centres in Craiova and Iasi that will add more than 100,000 square metres to the retail space in the two cities.
"Craiova Mall project will be developed near Romanescu Park and will cover a total surface area of 48,000 square metres organised on three levels. It will require an investment worth some 40 million euros," stated Luiza Moraru, the head of the retail department at the real estate company Eurisko.
Craiova Mall mainly targets the 100,000 inhabitants of the districts near the park. The fact that Dolj is ranked the fourth Romanian county by income per capita, had a significant weight when choosing the city, the quoted sources also say.
The construction work on the shopping centre is bound to start next February and will be completed in April 2008.
The project comprises an 8,000 square-metre supermarket, as well as entertainment places specific to malls such as a cinema, a billiards room and a bowling alley.
The agent of the project, the real estate consultancy firm Eurisko, is currently negotiating with several companies, but it would not say who the potential tenants of Craiova Mall are. Craiova Mall will be developed by the Greek-owned company Epsilon, which already operates several projects in Athens as well as projects on the domestic residential segment, according to Eurisko representatives. There are several shopping centre chains currently operational in Craiova, such as Metro, Selgros and Billa, as well as Pic Hypermarket, owned by the Penescu brothers.
Era Park shopping centre, based in Iasi, will be developed in two phases, on a 35 hectare plot of land, placed at the entrance to the city, in the Pacurari district. The first phase is set for completion in the first half of 2008. The invest
