September 12 (SeeNews) - Real estate developer AFI Europe Romania said on Tuesday that it has started works on its third shopping mall in the country, located in the central city of Brasov.
The first stage of construction requires an investment of 120 million euro ($143 million) and includes a shopping centre with a total gross leasable area (GLA) of 45,000 sq m and one of two Class A office towers with a total of 25,000 sq m of GLA.
AFI Brasov will comprise 200 shops and retail units and the leased spaces already exceed 80%, AFI Europe Romania said in a press release.
The company estimates that the delivery date of the project is the first quarter of 2019.
The new investment will create over 2,000 jobs and aims to become the new city centre of interest and the preferred destination for shoppers, tourists, the business community and multinational IT&C companies.
"In our vision, the role of a company goes beyond the boundaries of business, and any success must also be a success of the community. That is why this symbolic moment representing the cornerstone of our first project in Brasov marks our goal to become the main point of interest of the city, both for the inhabitants and for the local and international business community," AFI Europe Romania CEO David Hay said.
The new shopping centre will provide its guests with over 1,700 parking spaces and will have a 3,500 sq m green terrace, a cinema area with 10 VIP rooms, a 600 sq m casino, 1,200 sq m of entertainment area, playgrounds and other attractions for children, restaurants and coffee shops.
AFI Brasov is AFI Europe's third shopping centre developed in Romania, after AFI Cotroceni and AFI Ploiesti.
AFI Europe Romania has posted a net operating income of 25 million euro in the first half of 2017, up 11.5% on the year.
AFI Europe, a subsidiary of AFI Properties, is one of the leading real estate development, management and investment companies, which is operating in Central and Eastern Europe since 1997.
($= 0.8363 euro)