Superquinn is to develop a new £10 million supermarket in Limerick city which will lead to the creation of 200 new jobs. The store will form part of the new 16-acre shopping centre, Castletroy District Centre, which is currently being developed at Hurlers' Cross.

The new store is the first investment made by the company in the mid-west and Superquinn says it is now looking to make an investment in Cork city, if a suitable site can be obtained.

Planning permission for the store will be needed, but the site of the shopping centre is already zoned for retail use. Superquinn hopes to open the store in late November 1999. Architects Keenan Lynch have been appointed to design the store and the developer is Mr Paddy Hoare, from Limerick.

Mr Eamon Quinn, marketing director, said while the precise design of the supermarket has still to be decided, a large car park is likely to be needed to cater for the increasing number of cars used by shoppers.

"Every time we build a new supermarket there seems to be an increase in the amount of car space which will be needed," he added.

The company now own 11 supermarkets in Dublin and five others in Bray, Naas, Kilkenny, Carlow and Clonmel. It also has plans to open new stores in Finglas and Dundalk (due to open in February).

Mr Quinn said the biggest hindrance to the company's future expansion is the cost of retail sites. "With the competition from British retailers the cost of retail sites just keeps rising and the big developments are often just completely prohibitive," he said. Earlier this year Tesco paid £25 million for a site beside the new Quarryvale shopping centre in west Dublin.