Details of what is being billed as the largest shopping centre outside of Dublin are to be announced in Co Kildare today.
Due to open next spring, the Whitewater shopping complex in Newbridge is set to heighten competition among retailers in the eastern commuter belt.
Debenhams and Marks & Spencer have already been confirmed for the centre, which is pitching to cater for a travelling public stretching from Co Meath to Co Waterford.
It is also hoping to attract some customers currently frequenting large west Dublin centres such as Liffey Valley, The Square and Blanchardstown.
At an initial cost of €250 million, Whitewater is due to house about 50 shops, a large food court with seating for 650, and 1,700 car-parking spaces.
There are also plans to include a six-screen cinema complex, 1,300 square metres (14,000 square feet) of commercial buildings and 85 apartments.
At 32,000 square metres, the shopping centre is just a third of the size of the first phase of Dundrum Town Centre, which was opened seven months ago as part of a countrywide boom in shopping facilities.
Nonetheless, according to the developers, it will be the biggest centre in the country outside of the capital.
Debenhams committed to the project at an early stage, and was quickly joined by fashion retailer Next. M&S were also confirmed as tenants, with Dunnes Stores, Tesco and SuperValu already trading nearby.
A full list of the main retailers will be confirmed today, along with details of the centre's operations plan.
Joint developers Seán Mulryan, of Ballymore, and Seán Dunne, of Mountbrook, have promoted the Whitewater centre as a "mass-market fashion centre", with a catchment population of at least 160,000 within a 30-minute drive.
Newbridge, which was identified as a "primary development centre" in the National Spatial Strategy, had itself a population of 14,000 in 2000 - a rise of 10.7 per cent since 1996.
Kildare County Council's policy is to target a population of 19,500 people in Newbridge by next year.
According to a retail impact statement drawn up by the developers at planning stage, the centre could affect the number of Kildare shoppers travelling to centres in west Dublin.
A survey of shoppers in the catchment area found that Dublin city was the most visited competing centre for comparison shopping, followed by Tallaght, Naas and Blanchardstown.
The Whitewater site, once home to a military barracks, has been largely derelict since May 1998, when a building owned by Irish Ropes was destroyed by fire.
The development comes against a background of increased activity in the retail sector, including the €450 million sale of the Superquinn chain and increased penetration of the Irish market by German discounters Aldi and Lidl.
