Dedeman, Romania’s biggest DIY retailer, announced that it quits a USD 20 million investment project in the Republic of Moldova, arguing excessive barriers and bureaucracy, which blocked the project in the Chisinau Municipal Council, hotnews.ro informs, quoting publika.md.
The Dedeman network announced its intention to enter the Moldovan market in 2014. According to the agreement, more than 50 old buildings of the former leather factory in the city were to be demolished and instead a shopping center with 460 parking places and green spaces was to be built. At the same time, over 200 new jobs were to be opened, the source reads.
In the autumn of 2015, the Chisinau City Hall refused to issue the urbanism certificate when designing the respective objective, says agora.md. The Authority argued that it would be necessary to change the land use code in the General Urban Plan. Beneficiaries have complied with all requirements submitted by public authorities. The project was endorsed by the competent authorities, going through all the necessary procedures.
In December 2016, after several delays, the project was sent by the City Hall to Chisinau Municipal Council for final approval. Since then, the project has remained blocked to date.
Dedeman registered a turnover of RON 5.25 billion (EUR 1.17 billion) last year, up by 20 percent year-on-year, becoming the first Romanian entrepreneurial company to enter into the category of companies running over EUR 1 billion annually.