Second Mall delayed for six months

Turkish group Fiba, which operates Bucharest Mall, postponed launching its second commercial complex for next fall, even though the group officials had initially stated it would open in April 2004.
“We decided to reschedule the opening of the Plaza Romania shopping complex for the autumn of 2004 because of our partners’ requests. We need to redo the design of the store so that we could have rooms exceeding 1,000 square meters,” said Ali Ergun Ergen, general manager of Anchor Mall Development & Management SA division of Fiba.
Ergen added that besides the requests from the current business partners, the group was also negotiating with other international store chains, which are not operating on the Romanian market yet.
“We were the ones that brought in Romania names such as Marks & Spencer, Mango or Beauty Shop and we plan to keep introducing new names,” he said. However, Ergen did not disclose any company name the group might be negotiating entry on the Romanian market with.
Plaza Romania will exceed 80,000 square meters and will replace – just like the existing Mall, the “hunger circus” in the Lujerului area in Militari. The Turkish group bought the complex, together with the Vitan-based complex, for 6 million dollars.
According to Ergen, more than 35 million euros will be invested in the Militari-based complex, which will have a different identity from the one in Vitan.
The complex will also include a library and an exhibition room, among other things. 
Plaza Romania is supposed to absorb a work force of 2,000 people as soon as it starts operating at full capacity. In the meantime, Anchor Mall is adding finishing touches to the Vitan complex. 
The Mall in Vitan is extremely crowded. The potential demand is getting increasingly higher, but no other company has ever developed such an investment in Bucharest, though projects were announced.
The group announced it closed a deal with Altex chain to build a 3,000- square meter store to sell home appliances and IT and multimedia systems, which would add another floor to the complex. claudia.covaci@zf.ro