Nine owners of shopping malls in Bucharest and 24 in regional cities, together with the real estate consulting company CBRE, have asked the Romanian Government to reopen large shopping centers urgently.

Countries with higher COVID-19 infection rates than Romania have already taken this step, the shopping mall owners argue.

They estimate that the losses accumulated by companies due to the restrictions, representing the lost sales or retailers in malls, amount to about EUR 750 million.

Some 89,000 employees are directly or indirectly affected.

CBRE initiated the open letter addressed to the Government, which has been signed by Arena City Center, Baneasa Development, Ceetrus Romania, CPI, Immofinanz Romania, Iulius Grup, NEPI Rockcastle, ParkLake Shopping Center, and Veranda Asset Management.

These companies operate 52 malls and shopping centers with over 4,600 stores.

The measures to suspend the commercial activities within the shopping centers affect approximately 3.7 million square meters of built space in Romania, according to CBRE estimates.

Under the recently introduced state of alert, only malls with an area of under 15,000 sqm can now operate in Romania.

(Photo: Parklake Facebook Page)

editor@romania-insider.com