Albanian investment group Balfin has said it will invest 350 million euro ($408 million) in its Skopje East Gate real estate development project in the capital of neighbouring Macedonia.
The mixed-use project, with a gross built-up area of 143,000 square metres, will include a shopping mall, a residential compound and a business park, the Balfin Group said in a statement late on Friday, following the presentation of the project in Skopje.
Skopje East Gate is a very important project not only for Skopje, but for the whole country, Macedonian prime minister Zoran Zaev said.
The project is the largest private investment in Macedonia which will create great business opportunities, guarantee employment, strengthen trade, attract global firms, and offer a new approach to city life, said Samir Mane, president of the Balfin Group, said.
Balfin plans to make the investment through its newly created project company Skopje East Gate Real Estate Development in the span of five to seven years and will create up to 2000 new jobs, according to the statement.
Skopje East Gate is expected to be visited by about 12 million people a year.
Balfin Group is the largest shareholder of Skopje East Gate Real Estate Development and the project will be further developed with the participation of local and international investors, the company said.
The same group developed Skopje City Mall sold in October 2016 to UK-based investment company Hystead Limited for 92 million euro.
The Balfin Group owned by Samir Mane engages in real estate, retail, tourism, agriculture, energy, mineral industry, investments, and services through subsidiaries in Albania, Austria, Macedonia, Dubai, Kosovo, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, and the United States.
