The new supermarket will be located in the Cerrado de Calderón area, occupying a 1,000-square-metre plot on Calle Unidad 3, next to the roundabout leading up to the Baños del Carmen residential area. The project budget exceeds 630,000 euros.

Veritas has also had to pay a total of 6,937 euros into the municipal coffers as financial compensation for the felling of several eucalyptus trees.

Architect Pablo Alba Ripoll is behind the design of the new supermarket, which will replace a short-stay car park. The initial earthworks began a few weeks ago and the site has been cleared to make way for the construction.

With this supermarket, which includes a parking area for nine vehicles, Veritas is launching its first supermarket in Malaga city following the success of the first two it opened in Estepona two years ago.

It also has one shop in the Miramar retail park in Las Lagunas de Mijas and another in Marbella, which opened this past May. This makes the branch in Malaga city the fifth in the province.

Veritas has nearly 100 shops (as well as its online shop) across the regions of Catalonia, the Basque Country, Navarre, the Balearic Islands, Madrid, Valencia, Andalucía and Galicia, as well as in Andorra. It was founded in 2002 and opened its first supermarket in Barcelona.

The chain, which is committed to locally sourced and seasonal produce, boasts of being the first European supermarket to achieve B Corp certification in 2016 for its commitment to the sustainability of the planet and its people. It has launched various social projects to support vulnerable groups, including fair-trade products and initiatives to combat gender discrimination.

Read dedicated local reporting for Malaga city