Ostahie considers expanding abroad

Real estate developer Cometex, a part of the Altex group, could develop shopping centres in other countries from 2009. The new retail complexes will be similar to the Aurora shopping centre in Buzau, which was erected following a 25 million-euro investment. “We do not rule out other similar projects outside Romania, but such projects also run into different development-related problems compared to Romania. First, we will focus on completing our six local projects, and then examine the opportunities,” said Dan Ostahie (photo), chairman of the Altex group. The company has announced the development of six shopping centres, four of which will be built this year, with Media Galaxy stores as anchors. The first of the four projects is being developed in Buzau, under the name of Aurora Shopping Mall, with smaller projects to follow in Brasov, which entails a 7 million-euro investment, as well as in Arad and Timisoara, each with investments worth 5 million euros. The Brasov-based centre will also include a furniture retailer, but Ostahie has not revealed the name of the company. The first project of this type developed by Ostahie in Romania is a shopping gallery in Ploiesti, built in partnership with the Mobexpert owner, Dan Sucu, which will see investments worth 20 million euros. For the Aurora Shopping Mall, developer Cometex will invest 25 million euros, the bulk (around 70-75%) of which is provided by Austrian financial institution Investkredit.