BY NUALA MCALOON

ASDA has confirmed that its new, purpose-built £20 million store on the Derrychara Rd, adjacent to the Erneside Shopping Centre in Enniskillen will open on schedule at 10am on Monday, 20 August.

A total of 140 new jobs will be created at the re-sited store, taking the total workforce to 320, and providing a significant boost for the economy here.

Boasting the latest ASDA 'proto' design format, the store is expected to be much more environmentally friendly, and will have various energy saving devices, such as the introduction of a combined heat and power system which will reclaim all waste heat and transfer it for use in heating the store.

This move alone will result in reducing carbon emissions by 8.6%.

The construction of ASDA's new Enniskillen store was managed by GA Construction.

The new supermarket will now offer broader ranges of food and non-food items, including the full George clothing and home-ware ranges. It will also feature a customer café as well as a wet fish counter and photoshop within its 41,000 sq ft retail selling space. A new recycling centre will be incorporated within the 650-space car park.

The general store manager, Martin Kelly reported that excitement was mounting, among customers and colleagues alike.

"We are delighted that the re-site is going so well and that we are on track to open later this month. There is great pride among colleagues that the new Enniskillen store will be one of the first to be built to the new proto design format.

"Shoppers, both from Northern Ireland and across the border', he went on, " are eager to enjoy the increased offer the new larger store will bring, particularly the full George range which is always a major attraction for all ages."

The old Erneside store will close at 6pm as usual on Sunday, 19th August, he revealed.

"We are also delighted to be delivering a number of environmentally friendly initiatives within the design of the new store, which are a clear sign of the ASDA's overall commitment to the protection of the environment."

ASDA Enniskillen's opening hours are: 8am to 10pm Monday – Saturday and 1pm – 6pm on Sundays.

This development follows on from the last month's opening of Northern Ireland's first re-sited ASDA store in Strabane. The supermarket also plans to undertake a further re-site in Ballyclare as well as developing a 'new location' flagship superstore alongside Junction One in Antrim. Both are subject to planning permission.

The modern day ASDA has 281 stores and 24 depots across the UK and has been part of the Wal-Mart family since 1999.