Originally published in Profit Magazine in April 2024
The Turkmani family of American investors, with connections to the U.S. administration, is expanding the Mega Distribution Outlet complex in Romania.
Chang Oh and Salah Turkmani, active in the real estate and energy market, are working on expanding the storage capacity of the Mega Distribution Outlet complex in Chiajna by 50%, with one of the new halls to be occupied by the Polish drug supplier Zdrovit, according to documents analyzed by Profit.ro.
Chang Oh Turkmani was nominated by the U.S. presidency, during Donald Trump's term, as a member of the National Cancer Advisory Board's board of directors and is a member of the boards of organizations such as the American Romanian Business Council and Alianța, chaired by former U.S. ambassador to Romania, Jim Rosapepe. The investors are currently constructing a hall with an area of almost 9,000 square meters within the Mega Distribution Outlet in Chiajna. Sources of Profit.ro in the real estate market say that the Polish drug supplier Zdrovit, which markets the brands Gripovit and Bilomag, and which occupies a smaller space in another hall from the Turkmani family's real estate portfolio, is going to move its logistics activity to this warehouse.
Zdrovit is one of the largest manufacturers of drugs and food supplements in the form of effervescent tablets in Europe. Along with this construction, the Turkmani family is preparing the necessary documents for building another warehouse with an area of about 4,500 square meters also within the same logistics park. Mega Distribution Outlet has an existing storage area of 26,900 square meters and has 15.7 hectares of land. The two new spaces will increase the complex's area to over 40,000 square meters. The first building in the complex was built in 2016, followed by six others, now occupied by TeraPlast, Cummins Romania, Kuehne + Nagel, and Ascendum Machinery. All buildings that make up this industrial park were designed and made in the United States of America. The last of the seven functional buildings within the industrial park was put into use in 2021 and provides space for an industrial machinery service.
Chang Oh Turkmani was born in South Korea and speaks 7 languages, including Romanian. She is a lawyer, a graduate of the American University Georgetown, where she was also a professor for 16 years. She has extensive experience in the import and export of industrial goods, as well as in mining, production, construction, energy trade, maritime transport, renewable energy, and investment consulting.
Her company and her Lebanese-origin husband Salah Turkmani's company, The Mega Company, based in Washington, DC, primarily deals with the import-export of raw materials and mineral goods, including iron ore, coal, phosphate, and cement. Through this company, they manage 4 logistic parks in Chiajna, near Bucharest, with a total area of over 82,000 square meters. Besides the Mega Distribution Outlet, the family also manages the Mega Distribution Center complex, which has 15,000 square meters of warehouses on a 3.6-hectare land. The first building in this complex was erected in 1997 with components designed and made in the United States of America. Act Cold Storage has 20,000 square meters of cold storage on a land of almost 5 hectares, and Key Logistic Center has 20,900 square meters of storage on a 4.4-hectare land. The investors also own the electricity and gas supplier Crest Energy, active since 2015. Profit.ro recently wrote that this company is preparing to enter the renewable energy production market through a photovoltaic park to be arranged in Chitila, in an area with many new real estate developments in the logistics sector.
