Trigranit develops new transport hub in Poznan

Trigranit Development Corporation and Polish Public Railways have signed an agreement to develop a new transportation complex in Poznan. Construction of the EUR 160 mln investment is scheduled for early next year with the first phase of the hub - a large retail centre - due to be opened in 2012.

The hub will comprise a railway, a fast train, and a bus station with a parking garage for over 1,500 cars. The total GLA for the two phases is about 60,000 m2

PKP selected Trigranit last year in a tender by eight property developers. Under the agreement PKP brings into the investment a four-hectare plot of land, and necessary permissions and arrangements with Poznan municipality. Trigranit will seek the required financing and develop the investment design agreed with the City of Poznan.

'Poland has always been our flagship destination for our property development activity,' commented Trigranit's CEO Árpád Török. 'We opened our first shopping centre in Katowice five years ago, followed by the successful Bonarka City Center in Krakow last year. In Poznan we can utilize our experience in transforming train stations into new city centres gained at WestEnd City Center in Budapest and Emonika City Center in Ljubljana as well. We bring our expertise and our long-term commitment toward Poland, to create together with PKP a new centre and meeting point for Poznan citizens.'

Negotiations on the transport hub were concluded in just three years whereas the preparation of similar projects in other European countries usually takes five to six years.

Trigranit is a fully integrated real estate investment, development and management company. The Budapest-based company has operations in seven countries in Central and Eastern Europe, a large portfolio of completed assets, and a pipeline of over EUR 4 bn.