3 May 2005

Sonae Sierra invests €65.3 million

RioSul Shopping Centre set to modernise commerce and leisure in the Seixal region

• 138 shops and 920 direct new jobs
• Estimated 7.7 million visits/year
• Continente hypermarket among the anchor shops

The future RioSul Shopping and Leisure Centre, owned and developed by Sonae Sierra, and which results from the expansion of the Seixal Continente Shopping Centre, was today presented to the public. Under construction since June 2004 and scheduled to be opened in Spring 2006, a total of €65.3 million has been invested in this innovative enterprise. The centre will play a key role in modernising commerce and leisure facilities in the Seixal region.

With a Gross Lettable Area (GLA) of around 40,000 m², the RioSul Shopping Centre has a total of 138 shops, 11 of which are anchor shops, including a Continente hypermarket, as well as 18 restaurants and a car park containing 2,300 parking spaces, 1,900 of which are covered.

Approximately one year before opening, the RioSul Shopping Centre has already attracted a wide range of some of the most prestigious chains, such as MacModa, Tribo, Sportzone, Worten, Zara, H&M, Autocenter, Max-Mat, seven Castelo Lopes cinema screens, Pull&Bear, Bershka, Oysho, McDonald's and Pizza Hut, among others.

The new shopping and leisure centre is built on 71,264 m² of land at Quinta Nova do Rio Judeu, Torre da Marinha, Seixal. It is well provided for in terms of the road network, with roads from Lisbon (A2), Almada-Setúbal (EN 10) and Seixal-Sesimbra (EN 378).

The RioSul Shopping Centre is in the heart of a densely populated region and will serve a catchment population of over  1.1 million people within  30 minutes' travelling time. An estimated  1.1 million visits will be made each year, which is a rise of  2.7 million in comparison to the 5 million visitors that the current Seixal Continente receives per year. In the first year, annual sales are expected to reach €77.5 million.

The new  project  will  directly  generate 920  new  jobs,  adding  to  the  330  employees currently working at the Seixal Continente Shopping Centre.

Investing in safety and environmental quality

As in all the shopping and leisure centres run by Sonae Sierra, the RioSul Shopping Centre will  fully  comply  with  the  strictest  and  most  demanding  quality  standards  that  the company implements in all its enterprises, especially with regard to comfort, security and environmental protection.

Therefore, the new centre will be equipped with the most advanced systems in areas such as sorting and treatment of waste, and monitoring of the water and air quality. The management and energy saving system  (BMS  - Building Management System) is totally computerised.

With respect to safety, the RioSul Shopping Centre is also equipped with the most up-todate  support  systems,  such  as  an  automatic  fire  detection  system,  a  closed  circuit television system, an automatic intruder detection system, a fire-fighting network and a controlled access system.

Environmental certification of the development process

The RioSul Shopping Centre has been awarded the ISO 14001 environmental standard, attributed by the Bureaux Veritas (BVQI), for its exemplary management of the building process.

This certification was obtained due to the Project Environmental Management System, which encompassed the best environmental management  practices, minimising environmental impacts and bringing about continuous improvement to the environmental performance.

Therefore, in order to ensure the comfort and high standard of living of all its customers, as  well  as  home-owners  living  in  the  vicinity  of  the  centre,  several  environmental measures were adopted. These included: keeping the noise level and dust emission to a minimum, efficient waste management, and constant monitoring of underground water, atmospheric emissions and noise levels.

Sonae Sierra, www.sonaesierra.com, is an international specialist in shopping centres, with a passion for bringing innovation and excitement to the shopping and leisure centre business. The Company is the outright owner or joint proprietor of  34 Shopping Centres and one Retail Park in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Brazil, owning a total Gross  Leasable  Area  (GLA)  of  over  1.3  million m².  Sonae  Sierra  is  currently  building  a  further  14  projects  in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany and Greece, with a total GLA of over 600,000 m2.