Spanish retailer Eroski is to invest €350m (US$401.9) in its expansion in the Andalucia region of southern Spain in 2003, compared to an investment of €192m in 2002.

The company plans to open five hypermarkets in the region in 2003, creating 1,500 jobs, according to Eroski’s chairman Constan Dacosta. Eroski already operates eight hypermarkets in Andalucia and employs 2,516 staff.

Eroski will also invest €15m in the construction of a logistics centre in the region to add to the one it already operates there, reported the Spanish News Digest.