Romanian company Iulius Group will invest about $38 million in building a shopping mall in Timisoara. The construction works cannot begin yet, as the company does not have the necessary piece of land.
"The new complex will host over 200 shops; we're hoping to begin construction in early June," said Gheorghe Atudoroaie, Iulius Group representative in Timisoara.
He added that the project was due no later than next spring. The mall will take up 40,000 sqm at first, with another 20,000 sqm planned in a further development stage.
The total surface considered by Iulius Group's Timisoara project is of 120,000 sqm, as one four-star and two three-star hotels are to be built in addition to the shopping mall. The project also includes an exhibition hall and a 1,500-space parking lot.
The complex will be equipped with a multiplex centre and playgrounds, as well as other recreational spaces. The investment will create about 3,000 new jobs, according to Atudoroaie.
Some of the companies interested in leasing space inside the new Iulius Center are Gima, Flamingo Computers, Neckermann, Steilmann, Reebok, Optinova, David Jackson, Triumph, Dialog, Connex and Cosmorom.
"I met with Aldi and Ikea supermakert chains representatives two days ago, to discuss a possible partnership," Gheorghe Atudoroaie said. In spite of all this interest, the company has yet to come into possession of the land to build the new mall.
Iulius Group won the tender for the concession of the piece of land, organised in October 2000. However, the land is currently occupied by antennas of Societatea Nationala de Radiocomunicatii (National Radiobroadcast Company- SNR) - the Radio and TV Division (DRTV) in Timisoara.
"We have a contract signed, but DRTV Timisoara keeps on arguing all sorts of childish reasons preventing us from starting work on the mall.
The contract signed with SNR bound DRTV Timisoara to move the radio station to Ortisoara and vacate the land in seven days after the signing, which has not happened yet.
Those at DRTV Timisoara claim that moving the antennas would interrupt the broadcast of the radio studio in the city, and moving the station to Ortisoara, as decided two years ago, entails a lot of permits which take longer to obtain," Atudoroaie said.
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