21 new malls set to open in 2008

21 shopping centres are scheduled to open by the end of this year, which means that a new mall will open, on average, every 11 days in Romania, with the available modern commercial area set to double. This year has seen the inauguration of three malls so far – Unirea Shopping Center Brasov, Shopping City Suceava and Baneasa Shopping City, while the remaining openings will be concentrated in the second half of the year, when 15 new malls are expected. The shopping centres will open throughout Romania, from Constanta to Oradea, and from Pitesti to Suceava, with investments expected to exceed 1.5 billion euros. The biggest number of projects will be delivered in Bucharest (Vitantis, Liberty Center, Fashion House and Grand Arena), and the most active developer will be Belgium-based BelRom, which has four openings scheduled for this year, in Braila, Bacau, Deva and Focsani. In addition, cities like Piatra-Neamt, Buzau and Galati will welcome their first malls, while places like Craiova and Baia Mare will not see new malls this year.