New mall becomes Albania’s biggest

TIRANA, Nov. 22 -Tirana East Gate (TEG) will open its doors this weekend, becoming Albania’s largest western-style mall. Built by one of the leading real estate companies in Albania, Mane TCI, an affiliate of Balfin – Balkan Finance Investment Group, this new shopping mall will be twice as big compared to the existing QTU trade center, also owned by this group. Designed as a modern family-oriented retail and entertainment centre, TEG is situated in Lund첬 Farka County, 5 km south-east of Tirana and will be launched on Nov. 26. This 48 mln Euro development has over 38.000m2 of gross leasable area, bringing the newest and best retail brands to Albania. With 180 stores and 1200 parking spaces it will be a destination shopping mall in the suburb of Tirana. Back in Oct. 2009, the Albanian American Enterprise Fund (AAEF) approved the investment of 2.4 million Euros in the company Tirana East Gate. The Balfin Group is a privately owned business group based in Albania, with operations in the Balkan region. The group’s main business units are active in the property development as well as electronics and clothing retail sectors. The modern mall is part of France based Carrefour, the leading European retailer. Christian Charitat, the executive director of Carrefour Group, said earlier this year the group’s policy will be combining import products and promoting Albanian products, especially agri-industrial ones. According to Prime Minister Sali Berisha, the company will initially hire 550 people and it plans to extend its activity to other Albanian cities.