Briefs

Tri-City town to construct Sports' Stadium

A 4,000 seat sports' stadium is to be constructed in the northern Polish town of Gdynia, at a cost of EUR 5.5 mln. The local authority is to contribute EUR 3.6 mln and the Pomorskie voivodship the remaining EUR 1.4 mln for the project, the tender for which will be announced in summer this year. Completion of the facility, to hold football matches and cultural and trade events, is due for 2005.

More of Ahold in Poland

Dutch retail operator Ahold, has plans for ten new Hypernova hypermarkets and twenty to twenty-five new Albert supermarkets, which will increase its number of outlets to thirty four of the former and 185 of the latter in Poland. These new investments are possible because the firm opened two large warehouses in central Poland last autumn, which will serve both chains.

South African JD Group's expansion plans for Poland

The South African furniture retailer the JD Group which runs 24 'Abra' shops in Poland, is set to increase this number by as much as five to ten a year, to an ultimate maximum of 150. The new shops will range from 465 to 835 sqm and will be situated in urban areas. Once it has achieved these goals in Poland it will look to enter other Central and Eastern European markets.

French developer to construct centre in Poznań

The French developer Apsys has plans to construct a multi-functional centre in Poznań, at a cost of EUR 93.2 mln. The centre will occupy seventeen hectares of land, construction of it will begin later this year and it is due for completion in 2005.

Plaza Centres Poland denies rumours

Plaza Centers Poland, the developer of several retail projects in Southern and Central Poland, including Sadyba Best Mall in Warsaw, has denied having any financial difficulties. It has reported that 90% of the contract fee has been already paid to the general constructor of its project in Ruda Śląska and the additional money is subject to court proceedings. In PCP's opinion, the reason why some deals with local authorities have still not been signed is because of complications related to site ownership and the lengthy procedures involved in obtaining building permits. The developer has announced the launch of three new investments this year: retail schemes in Poznań, Lublin and Rybnik.