Wal-Mart Costa Rica announced Friday that it plans to build a new $12-million Hipermás store in the western San José suburb of Escazú, according to a statement from the company.

Like the other four Hipermás stores in Costa Rica, this store will sell everything from home appliances to clothes to groceries, much like Wal-Mart stores in the United States and around the world.

Last September, Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the United States, bought a one-third stake in the Central American Holding Company (CARHCO), which comprises 363 supermarkets throughout Central America, including Más x Menos, Palí and Hipermás stores (TT, Sept. 30, 2005).

Wal-Mart plans to open the Escazú store in the middle of 2007. It will be built on a 26,500-square-meter lot and will have a 6,500-square-meter sales area, according to Wal-Mart Costa Rica corporate affairs director Alquileo Sánchez.

The new Hipermás will create 600 jobs, the statement said, and will be the first Hipermás to be modeled after Wal-Mart stores in the United States.

-ACAN-EFE and Tico Times