Lithuanian contractors to build in Romania

  • 2005-04-27
  • Baltic News Service
VILNIUS - Lithuania's real estate developer Hanner and the Europa Group announced they would build apartment blocks in the Romanian capital to meet demand from Lithuanian businessmen opting to invest in East European countries.

"This will be the pilot project of two companies. The first project on construction of blocks of flats in Bucharest will be implemented by a newly established company, Europa Group Hanner, which the partners will control in equal parts," Arvydas Avulis, chairman of Hanner, said.

The companies will build a 15 million euro apartment block consisting of approximately 100 flats in the center of Bucharest by late 2006.

Europa Group intends to build a hotel in Bucharest and Sofia. Moreover, the group is eyeing Warsaw, Bratislava, Prague, Budapest and Zagreb. In November the chain will open a new hotel in Riga, and in 2007-2008 it should open two hotels in Tallinn. Moreover, hotels will be built in Druskininkai, the popular Lithuanian spa resort, and Kaunas.

Hanner, in the meantime, has already increased its presence on the Ukrainian market, where it will invest some 130 million litas in the upcoming two-year period.

Martynas Kaciulis, Europa Group CEO, said that East European countries were particularly attractive for their large markets and favorable business environment.

Europa Group said it intended to expand in the Baltics, where it will invest some 80 million litas (23.2 million euros) in the next several years.

Europa Group, which currently operates two hotels in Vilnius and one in Klaipeda, posted 11.5 million litas in sales for 2004.

The group is controlled by two Lithuanian nationals.