Business Review

The Bucharest city hall has awarded to SCT Bucuresti, Alpine Bau in Austria and Via Proiect Bucuresti a RON 37 million (EUR 8.8 million) contract to upgrade the road system and the tram line on the Aerogarii Boulevard in Bucharest.

Mercadia Holland BV has taken over the full shareholding of miniMax Discount, the operator of the discount retail network. Mercadia owns the Mic.ro chain of proximity stores, which is controlled by businessman Dinu Patriciu. The value of the transaction was not disclosed but market estimates place it at a few million euros.

The number of houses built by the National Housing Association (ANL) is expected to fall this year from 7,000 units, as was planned by the Development Ministry at the beginning of 2010, to just 1,400. The cutback comes as the state budget funding for building this type of housing, which is intended to be used by young people, is going down.

The National Railways Company CFR plans to rent space in 15 stations to large retailers. An area representing 30 percent of the total station surface could be taken up by fast food outlets, restaurants, pharmacies, bookstores and bank branches, said the company’s general manager Emil Sabo, quoted by Mediafax.

Metro Cash & Carry opened last week its second Metro Punct outlet, which particularly targets resellers. The store is located close to the town of Piatra Neamt, has a sales surface of 1,500 sqm and over 3,000 items in its range. It also includes products under Metro’s own brands Aro, Fine Food and Sigma.

The first H&M store will open in AFI Palace Cotroceni Mega Fun, as the flagship of the H&M network in Romania. The store will take up a dedicated surface of two floors and will be inaugurated in the spring of 2011.

Otilia Haraga

The local subsidiary of Dutch polyurethane foams and adhesives producer Den Braven posted a 40 percent sales increase for the first half of 2010 against the same period of last year, reaching EUR 16.3 million. The increase was mostly driven by a surge in exports of more than 115 percent while sales on the local market rose by 7 percent, reaching EUR 7.5 million.

The Bucharest City Hall Council has approved a EUR 108 million increase in the costs of the Basarab flyover, Mediafax has reported. The sum covers the expenses incurred by the project over the past two years. The financing will come from the local budget of the city hall.

The profiles components division of Lindab group has reported a 10 percent increase in sales for April-June of this year compared to the same period of last year, with a value of EUR 59.4 million.

Euro Habitat, the developer of the Planorama residential project in Bucharest, has entered insolvency procedures through reorganization. The Bucharest court has opened the procedures and appointed a judicial administrator to lead the reorganization of the company.