AFI Europe ups investment in Cotroceni Park, buys out partner
Note that this information is outdated.
Africa Israel Europe (AFI Europe), part of the Israeli group Africa Israel Investments, has increased its investment in the Cotroceni Park project in Bucharest to EUR 300 million from the initially-announced EUR 165 million.
Moreover, the developer has bought the shares of its partner in the project, New Century Holdings (NCH). The latter mainly contributed with the 12 hectares of land the mixed project is being built on. The land used to belong to the electrical equipment maker UMEB. By the end of the year AFI will become the sole owner of the project. "We will pay around EUR 78 million for the 50 percent shares held by NCH and we will be the only shareholders in this project from December," said Reuven Havar, CEO of Cotroceni Park. The developers had trouble finding an entrepreneur for the project and had to organize the bid twice. "It was very hard to find a good entrepreneur for our project so we had to pay more than expected," said Havar. Eventually, the company selected entrepreneur Danya Cebus, a company from the same group as AFI Europe. The contract between the two parties was signed on October 23 for EUR 158 million. The sum covers strictly construction and excludes other elements such as demolition or excavation. Thus, the budget for the construction of the mall will roughly amount to EUR 200 million while the hotel and the five office buildings, currently in the design stage, will require investments of approximately EUR 100 million.
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