Baneasa Investments to step into the black in one year

Baneasa Investments, the developer of Baneasa project of northern Bucharest, which entails investments of almost 2 billion euros, is going to turn into the black next year, according to the company’s estimates.
“Starting next year, Baneasa project will become profitable. The factors behind this trend are the overall development of the real estate market, of the segment of constructions, as well as the rising rental prices. However, it is now difficult to give an approximate value of net income for 2008. Still, we anticipate a profit of above 400 million euros when Baneasa project is finalised,” Michael Lloyd, managing partner of Baneasa project, which was started in 2000 and is due to be finished in five years, told ZF.
Baneasa Investments shareholders, businessmen Gabriel Puiu Popoviciu and Radu Dimofte and the Agronomy University, this year decided to boost investments in the project by 50%, to 1.8 billion euros.
Thus, in the housing area, now filling 60% of the entire area of the project, 4,500-5,000 housing units will be developed, 50% more than had been initially announced.
The office segment, called Baneasa Business & Technology Park, will be expanded the most, with around 250,000 square metres of offices to be built, an area that will also include a subterranean parking lot of around seven hectares, according to the latest data available. According to the decision to expand the project, Baneasa Shopping centre will see its built area enlarged.
“Baneasa Shopping City management further expanded the initial project by reconfiguring the main entranceway to incorporate a department store and by doubling the area destined to leisure to 30,000 square metres,” states Lloyd.
Baneasa shareholders intend to develop real estate projects in other major cities of Romania as well in the following years, depending on emerging opportunities.
“At present, we are looking at other development possibilities outside Bucharest as well, but no contract has been signed for such projects at this moment. We haven’t decided on a minimum value of investments, but we will make estimates depending the features and potential of the respective city and of course on the size of the project to be developed,” specifies Lloyd.
Moreover, the company’s representatives are mulling expansion in countries of SE Europe as well.
Baneasa real estate project will fill an area of 221 hectares held by the Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine University (USAMVB), of which 50 hectares green space, and will expand the area of the capital city by 1%.