Redevco and EMCT end partnership in local Romanian Retail Development

According to the same document, Redevco Group has decided not to start any new retail real estate developments in Romania during 2009 but will continue to develop its planned retail project in Tulcea and explore further investment opportunities on the local real estate market.
The two companies will continue to operate as independent entities in Romania and are optimistic about the local potential for developing retail real estate, their representatives said. According to the official data, it has been agreed that EMCT will take over RRD's activities. In 2007, the real estate developer Redevco Europe and EMCT Romania set up joint venture Romanian Retail Developments, in which they planned to invest around EUR 500 million in Romania in the next five years.
RRD was intended to focus on developing projects consisting of between 25,000 and 100,000 sqm of gross lettable area (GLA) in several cities around the country. At that time, RRD was agreed to primarily develop Redevco's own real estate projects, while the two projects EMCT had under development – Sun Plaza Bucharest and Siret Plaza Galati – would continue to be developed by EMCT Romania. Sun Plaza, to be located in South Bucharest, will feature some 76,000 sqm of GLA, and
will need around EUR 150 million in investment, according to the developer. The mall should have been ready in 2008 but has been subject to multiple delays so far. Sun Plaza is a joint development with Austrian Sparkassen Immobilien.
Siret Plaza in Galati, which will consist of some 60,000 sqm of shopping area, had a primary completion time set for 2009.
Magda Purice