Skanska signs its biggest deal of the year with ECC

Swedish construction company Skanska signed a contract with the European Construction Consortium (ECC) to extend CHR Promenada, a Warsaw mall. The zł. 90 million contract envisages enlarging the center by 60,000 square meters. "This is the largest deal that our construction division has secured so far this year," said Skanska's deputy president, Roman Wieczorek. The investment is scheduled to begin later this year and should be concluded by January 2005. The total value of the project is estimated at zł. 120 million and will be financed from EEC's own capital together with a long-term loan granted by a consortium of banks. "From our observation, it turns out that the Warsaw market is far from being saturated with shopping malls, as a lot of companies are still looking for shop space to rent," said ECC's managing director Adrian Heymans. The concern plans to construct five more mall over the next five years whose total value will exceed $500 million. (Puls Biznesu, p. 13) M.M.