Sat, Jul 04 2009
Carrefour, the French hypermarket chain, announced plans to build a retail-entertainment complex in Stara Zagora, weekly Stroitelstvo Gradut said. The total investment will amount to 10 million euro as the property itself will be situated on a land plot of 20 900 sq m. The project features a mall, whose retail space will be 14 575 sq m, as well as hypermarket on a further 6324 sq m.
Architect Ilian Iliev of Planning Ltd. has been picked todesign the mall, with Carrefour currently still looking to select a construction company to build it. With the opening of the complex, Carrefour has promised to offer 400 new job positions when the project is completed by 2010 as planned.
The international hypermarket chain has a global network of stores and it is considered to be the second largest retail group after the American corporation Wal-Mart, in terms of revenue. Carrefour operates in Europe, South America, North Africa and Asia.
In the next five to seven years, the retail giant is planning to open at least 20 hypermarkets in Bulgaria.
As previously reported by The Sofia Echo, in March Carrefour sold its largest development in the country to date, constructed on Sofia's Tsarigradsko Chausse bouldevard for close to 200 million euro. The new buyer, Greek fund Assos Capital, is entitled to complete the adjoining commercial centre, but Carrefour retains ownership of the 14 600 sq m hypermarket, located in the mall.
After Bourgas, Carrefour eyes Sofia next, but not before February 2010
Managed by Real Estate Services Bulgaria (RESB, this is the second such project after the opening of Mall Sofia. RESB is also in charge of Mall Rousse and Mall Stara Zagora
Carrefour opens the first of four stores planned for Bulgaria in Bourgas Plaza, the city's first shopping mall, which is due to open for business in the first week of April
The project will be financed by the Bulgarian Bank for Development, and the Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas, or Jessica Programme, although the report has so far failed to reveal the total cost of the vast enterprise.
The strategic plan envisages the conservation of the nature "for decades ahead", and it was formulated by a municipal team headed by professor Ivan Nikiforov, backed by Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev.
Once the overhaul and reconstruction of the Sofia–Vidin line is complete, it will cut travel time to three hours, as the train will be able to reach speeds of up to 160 km/h, shortening the journey to three hours.
Marriott however has made it clear that is not interested in investing in construction, but rather to occupy and manage existing buildings. Its strategy is to obtain management contracts.
Investors realise that it’s not viable to have a building remaining empty over the course of a year – so it's better for them to employ more flexibility to offset that loss.