A total of 3,816 retail construction projects, with a combined estimated investment value of approximately €15.7 billion and a total planned area of around 23 million sqm, have been tracked across Romania over the past 12 months, according to an analysis by IBC Focus based on data from its VICTA construction intelligence platform. The figures cover a wide range of commercial developments, from individual retail units and supermarkets to showrooms, retail galleries and shopping centres, identified across all Romanian counties.
Of the projects monitored, 649 are currently under construction, representing an estimated investment value of RON 33.7 billion and a total area of approximately 8.01 million sqm. A further 2,090 projects are in the permitting stage, with a combined estimated value of RON 29.53 billion and around 10.03 million sqm. Together, these two categories account for nearly 80% of the total estimated investment value covered by the analysis.
Individual retail stores make up the largest share of monitored projects, with 2,919 developments, equivalent to approximately 76.5% of the national total. Showrooms account for a further 315 projects, followed by shopping malls and commercial centres with 272 developments, supermarkets with 205 projects, petrol stations with 131, hypermarkets with 77, DIY retail with 24 and cash-and-carry with two. Some developments are classified under multiple subcategories, so figures for individual categories should not be added together to calculate the national total.
Timiș County ranks first nationally with 369 retail construction projects monitored over the past 12 months. Cluj follows with 304 projects, ahead of Bucharest with 272, Ilfov with 247 and Bihor with 239. Other notable markets include Iași with 220 projects, Constanța with 218 and Brașov with 194. At the other end of the ranking, Covasna recorded 12 projects, Ialomița 14 and Teleorman 15.
New-build developments dominate the monitored market, with 3,544 projects involving new construction, representing approximately 92.9% of the total. The remaining developments comprise 115 extensions, 86 renovations, 66 modernisation projects and five repair projects. Although projects under construction represent only around 17% of the monitored total, they account for more than 42% of the combined estimated investment value, while those in the permitting stage represent potential future construction work subject to regulatory approvals, financing and commercial decisions.
