This is what the new Costco in Malaga will look like as the American supermarket chain is set to revolutionise shopping on the coast

The countdown is on for the start of the plan to relaunch the Malaga Nostrum retail park centre, which will involve construction of a Costco store from the popular American chain of supermarkets.

In a month's time, the first phase of this operation, which will consist of adapting what was the former Conforama furniture shop to house a new cinema area, should be getting under way. The revamped Málaga Nostrum shopping centre will eventually house 14 cinema screens on the first floor and a shopping arcade on the ground floor, according to the plans drawn up by architect Salvador Moreno Peralta.

However, this process, which will take a year, is only the first step before the most important work starts: the construction of the Costco supermarket in the space that will remain after the demolition of the current cinemas. That demolition is expected to take about six months, which leaves at least a year and a half until construction on the Costco store, a project by Basque architect Antxon Taberna, can start.

One of the most important features of the building is the large number of parking spaces it will have, which suggests it will attract a large number of customers interested in the supermarket's offering of low prices. Costco operates as a kind of club in which members pay an annual fee of around 36 euros per year for individuals and 30 euros for companies and the self-employed.

Urban planning regulations for this project require a minimum of 400 parking spaces, which Costco plans to increase to 640 which will be distributed in the basement floor and ground floor. Of these spaces, 16 will be disabled and another 16 will have electric charging points.

On the ground floor, there will also be a workshop service area for tyre replacement, as well as the main entrances to the store. The pedestrian entrance will be on the corner of Calle Jaén and Calle Tarragona, and vehicles will be able to enter the car park via Calle Ávila, Tarragona and Jaén. There will be a fourth access for goods vehicles at the south-west end of the building.

Promoters of the project, sponsored jointly by Costco and the shopping centre owner Bogaris group, drew up a traffic study which concluded that building the store is "viable". However, the study pointed out that there could be a movement of 970 vehicles in the area on a Saturday afternoon, which is why they are calling for the creation of a working group with central government, the city hall and the association of industrial estates to implement measures to promote public transport and cycling, and to avoid the use of the roundabout located next to the shopping centre as a connection point with the MA-22 road to the Poniente promenade.

The Costco store has been earmarked for the first floor of the future building, which is valued at 26.4 million euros, with a construction period of nine months, meaning that it may not become a reality until 2027. The store will occupy a surface area of more than 12,000 square metres, of which 5,811 will be for the general sales area, 2,777 for shelving and stocking tables, and 641 square metres for access and cash desks, among other uses.

The sales area will have spaces for butchers, dairy products, fruit and vegetables, fish, frozen food, bakery and pastries, and a ready-made meals area. One of the hallmarks of the supermarket chain, present in 14 countries around the world, is to offer low and competitive prices through attractive family savings packs.

On its shelves, Costco boasts an offering of "savings and quality". "Costs are kept to a minimum, we don't spend on advertising or fancy materials," it said. Costco's shops look more like industrial warehouses where the products are distributed in large aisles stacked on pallets and high shelves. Another of their main hallmarks is the large format, not only in the space of their stores, but their products which are sold in extra-large sizes or family packs.

Another attraction of the Málaga Nostrum shopping centre transformation, valued at a total of more than 60 million euros, is the construction of a fuel station also managed by Costco. It will be built after the demolition of one of the commercial warehouses on the block where Conforama was located.