The IKEA company is interested in continuing its investment in the Serbian market with an opening of a department store and a shopping centre.

The exact date of the commencement of construction works will depend on the outcome of the lot purchase negotiations and the speed at which the judicial and administrative procedures regarding the issuing of necessary permits are completed, the company’s public relations manager Milena Vujicic said yesterday.

An investment into a department store and a shopping centre will be between €250 and €300 million, which will enable the opening of 2,000 jobs in Serbia, as confirmed by Vujicic.

She further said IKEA was not aiming for any exclusive status nor any special conditions regarding the purchase of the building lot where the department store and the shopping centre wou

ld be built, but rather that established standards and norms needed to be met in accordance with domestic market movement.

Emphasising the “investments so far and improvements of production capacities of domestic manufacturers have reached around €3 million”, she said this should be coupled with the value of endeavours completed with partners such as Simpo this year alone has reached €15 million.