Niro’s Central Residential Park in downtown Bucharest will be ready for residents by September 2007.

New Chinatown under construction will serve as gateway to Europe for Chinese companies

A MAJOR commercial and residential project known as Chinatown Romania is expected to become a major hub of European trade with China. Currently under construction on the outskirts of Bucharest, the development will include five commercial centers extending over 60,000 sqm, a megastore, and a permanent exhibition area of 100,000 sqm. It will also boast a hotel, a 16-floor office building, seven residential blocks, and traditional Chinese-style buildings.

Chinese companies increasingly view Romania as a gateway to the E.U. market, and, indeed, more than 8,000 currently operate in the country. Niro Investment Group is the developer behind Chinatown Romania, in conjunction with various Chinese partners. The group estimates the overall cost of the development at €200 million ($265.5 million), with most of the financing coming from company capital, supplemented by bank loans from Romanian and foreign banks.

Nicolae Dumitru, President of the group, says the project will not be exclusively targeted towards Chinese businessmen, however, but will host the international community in general.

Mr. Dumitru established the Niro Group in 1990 in partnership with a Chinese businessman. Starting out with 80 small shops rented out to Chinese goods retailers, today the group comprises around 20 companies and develops major real estate projects, including retail, residential, hotels and restaurants.

NICOLAE DUMITRU President of Niro Investment Group

Another of the group’s development projects is Central Residential Park in downtown Bucharest. The residential area will consist of around 545 apartments and is scheduled for delivery by September 2007. The company has invested €50 million ($66.3 million) in Central Park, and has already inked contracts for 80 percent of the apartments.

Elsewhere, in a move that will help Bucharest regain some of its past grandeur, the group plans to restore the historical Grand Hotel du Boulevard, an architectural gem that was built in 1867, but which has since fallen into disrepair. Restoration works are expected to cost around €10 million ($13.2 million).

During the communist regime, former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu razed large swathes of the city’s historic neighborhoods, replacing them with Soviet-style buildings. However, many of the 19th and early 20th century jewels remain although most require extensive renovation. In addition to the historical importance of the project, the newly refurbished Grand Hotel du Boulevard will also help address the lack of rooms in Bucharest.

Mr. Dumitru points out real estate investments, saying that they “have only been made in the center, on very small areas. In the years to come, Bucharest will develop on a much larger scale, and it will include broader areas; the center, the metropolitan area, and the outskirts.