The Nesto Group of the UAE is to open its second supermarket and department store in Bahrain later this month.

The BD700,000 facility in Salmabad will cater to thousands of low-paid workers, Nesto Group subsidiary Geepas Bahrain general manager Muhammed Haneef said.

'These are difficult times for the country's economy but with this investment, we have expressed our full confidence in its resilience,' Haneef said yesterday.

'We are confident that the economy is on the rebound and business is going to take off in a big way soon.'

He said though the opening date had not been finalised yet, they hoped it would be by the end of this month.

'There is no large supermarket in that area yet and thousands of workers have to depend on cold stores in the area or have to travel great distances to get supplies.'

He said the supermarket pricing will be extremely competitive, so as to suit the budgets of people who stay and work in the area.

The group, which has several smaller stores all over Bahrain, had opened a BD500,000 outlet on Shaikh Hamad Avenue in Salmaniya in May last year.

Nesto Group chief executive officer Nasser Abubaker had then said there would be several more supermarkets opening in the future in many of Bahrain's thickly-populated residential areas.

He said plans were also on track to open the group's first hypermarket in the country in Muharraq.

Abubaker said the aim of the Nesto Group, already well-known in the Middle East for its Geepas brand of electronics and home appliances, is to become one of the biggest retail chains in the GCC region.-TradeArabia News Service