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Posts Tagged ‘Farka’

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, there will be a new enormous shopping centre constructed on the  south side of Tirana in Komuna Farke.  The project will cost around EUR48 million with part-funding coming from the EBRD.

Residents in Tirana have been aware of the construction boom happening across the city for the past few years, with construction hotspots being:

• At the foot of the Dajti Mountain
• Next to the Artificial Lake
• West - from the edge of Tirana to Kashar and Kamzes and along to Durres

With a new ring road - still not yet under construction - joining the West, past the lake, to the South, the next construction boom could be about to happen on the southside, down Elbasan Road, to Komuna Farke.  This Komuna looks to shortly merge with Tirana, being only approx 4km from the centre.

Certainly, the largest shopping centre in Albania, due to be completed in 2011, may have some effect on this:

Here it is under construction in November 2009:

Tirana, the capital city of Albania, is going through a retail boom. Recent modern apartment buildings in Tirana centre, were not really designed as proper retail/shopping centres, but almost accidently became that way – European Trade Centre (ETC) on Boulevard Bajram Curri and the Twin Towers on Deshmoret e Kombit.

One of the earliest dedicated retail complexes was QTU (Qendra Tregtare Univers) located on the Tirana-Durres Highway, 6km from the centre of Tirana.  QTU is currently the largest shopping centre in Albania.  Also QTU seems to be expanding, by taking over a building in the centre of Tirana on Abdyl Frasheri and calling it QTU City, and also taking over buildings in Fier and Vlora and renovating them with their branding.

After QTU, opened  Casa Italia Shopping Centre at Kamza Crossing in Kashar, a little closer to the centre.  Next was the Kristal Center in Komuna Parisit. To make easier access for shoppers and to attract more customers, Casa Italia and QTU run free regular buses from the centre of Tirana – Skenderbeg Square.

Albanians seem to be happy to visit the new shopping centres, but are still using the main street shopping locations as well, like Myslym Shyri.

There seems to be much anticipation generated for the new shopping centre – City Park Tirana. The brand new shopping “city” will be the largest retail park in Albania, when it opens in September 2009.

But even before the opening, another new larger shopping centre is in the works – Tirana East Gate. This goes to show that higher demand is expected by retail investors. The EBRD (European Bank of Reconstruction and Development) will support the project with funding up to EUR24 million.

The shopping park will be a modern family-oriented retail and entertainment centre in Lundër, Farka, 5km south-east of Tirana. This will create HUGE demand for housing and property in this location, where real estate prices are currently very low.

The project will offer 39,000sqm of retail, happy-shopper space, around 1,600 parking spaces, and will create 100s of jobs for the locals.

Albania is changing and growing, boosted by the emerging middle class, the current population growth, foreign investment, remittances from Albanians abroad, and educated Albanians returning to their homeland. Even in the global economic crisis, Albania continues to grow, and the new East Gate Shopping Park will lead Albania into a whole new retail world.