Shopping centers prepare to open in the next block
The shopping centers will open in Block 3, where retail trade is included. More than 40,000 people would get back their jobs when the shopping centers are re-opened.
But the shopping centers will not be able to open their restaurant and bar areas. This was stated by the president of the Panamanian Association of Shopping Centers (APACECOM), Nadyi Duque.
Shopping centers would be another engine for the revival of employment in Panama, with more than 40,000 people who would reactivate at their jobs.
In previous years, shopping malls generated sales of up to $11 billion, now these figures will be difficult to reach, even when it has been decided that this year the so-called "black weekend" will not be celebrated.
Duque explained that at first they were not clear, if the shopping centers were in block 3 or 6, but they already have a statement from the authorities and it was confirmed that they are planned for the next phase.
Although there is still no exact date for the reopening of block 3, it includes retail (non-essential, wholesale (non-essential), car sales, professional services, administrative services, construction in the private sector, shopping malls and centers, without the opening of restaurants and bars; car washes, accounting firms, consulting, selection and recruitment of human resources, etc.
In addition to beauty salons, massages, spas, travel agencies, the audiovisual industry (advertising, TV, cinema), real estate (appraisals, inspections, brokerage) and car rental companies.
"We were not in any classification and obviously the shopping centers are made up of shops, and if block 3 is retail, you had to be able to enable the corridors, air conditioners and all the amenities, which forces us to open, but it was in a legal limbo that the shopping center was not originally classified as such," Duque explained.
He pointed out that there were rumors that they were going to open in block 6 and they wanted a clarification about it because it is inappropriate that they open the shops and not open the structure of the shopping center.
The economist Olmedo Estrada sees an opportunity to reactivate the economy in the country with the gradual reopening of activities, as long as biosecurity measures are followed to maintain the safety of both the employees and the customers who will attend these shopping centers.
"We are preparing ourselves, and have been working on protocols to see what they will be different from the usual protocols, if we have to take additional measures. We are making the respective consultations with MINSA and one of them is the number of people inside the premises. We are waiting for a response, "said Duque.
In addition, he added that they are preparing a budget to buy supplies, which will specifically involve masks, gel, signaling, disinfection and thermometers.
Shopping centers would be another engine for the revival of employment in Panama, with more than 40,000 people who would reactivate at their jobs.
In previous years, shopping malls generated sales of up to $11 billion, now these figures will be difficult to reach, even when it has been decided that this year the so-called "black weekend" will not be celebrated.
Duque explained that at first they were not clear, if the shopping centers were in block 3 or 6, but they already have a statement from the authorities and it was confirmed that they are planned for the next phase.
Although there is still no exact date for the reopening of block 3, it includes retail (non-essential, wholesale (non-essential), car sales, professional services, administrative services, construction in the private sector, shopping malls and centers, without the opening of restaurants and bars; car washes, accounting firms, consulting, selection and recruitment of human resources, etc.
In addition to beauty salons, massages, spas, travel agencies, the audiovisual industry (advertising, TV, cinema), real estate (appraisals, inspections, brokerage) and car rental companies.
"We were not in any classification and obviously the shopping centers are made up of shops, and if block 3 is retail, you had to be able to enable the corridors, air conditioners and all the amenities, which forces us to open, but it was in a legal limbo that the shopping center was not originally classified as such," Duque explained.
He pointed out that there were rumors that they were going to open in block 6 and they wanted a clarification about it because it is inappropriate that they open the shops and not open the structure of the shopping center.
The economist Olmedo Estrada sees an opportunity to reactivate the economy in the country with the gradual reopening of activities, as long as biosecurity measures are followed to maintain the safety of both the employees and the customers who will attend these shopping centers.
"We are preparing ourselves, and have been working on protocols to see what they will be different from the usual protocols, if we have to take additional measures. We are making the respective consultations with MINSA and one of them is the number of people inside the premises. We are waiting for a response, "said Duque.
In addition, he added that they are preparing a budget to buy supplies, which will specifically involve masks, gel, signaling, disinfection and thermometers.