THIS is how Newport city centre is set to look in five years' time.

Exciting plans to transform the retail centre of the city into a major shopping destination were unveiled yesterday by the city council.

Modus Corovest (Newport) Ltd were chosen as developers for the £200 million scheme, which council bosses say will create hundreds of jobs and attract high-profile retailers.

The plans include:

* 388,500 sq ft of retail space

* Department store

* Restaurants

* Cafs and bars

* Health club

* Multi-screen cinema

* Parks

* 137 residential apartments, including a 17-storey residential tower

* Car-parking facilities for up to 1,400 cars

It is hoped work on the four-hectare site will start towards the end of 2006 and be completed in time for the thousands of visitors expected for the 2010 Ryder Cup.

Councillor Bob Bright, leader of Newport city council, said: "This announcement is great news for Newport and will help to establish the city as a major retail centre.

"The benefits will be felt by everyone, including existing traders and new businesses, who will be attracted to this exciting development.

"The people of Newport will benefit from having a first class city centre for the 21st century."

The retail scheme covers an area comprising Kingsway, Upper Dock Street, John Frost Square and the bus station.

It will bring together Newport's riverside area and commercial centre, allowing people to walk between the two.

A two-tiered shopping centre will include high street and independent retailers, with a major department store as the jewel in the crown. The shopping centre, or Galleria, will be curved in design and covered by a simple glass canopy, with the top floor featuring cafs, bars and restaurants.

A health club and cinema will ensure the city centre is more than just a shopping destination. While restaurants overlooking the river, together with residential units located in an iconic tower, will ensure the area is used in the evening, too.

After an extensive tendering process, Modus Corovest was yesterday chosen by councillors from a shortlist of five major developers.

Brendan Flood, managing director of Modus, said: "We are delighted to be working with Newport Unlimited and the city council to provide a development commensurate with the city's status.

"The real work now begins and we are thoroughly looking forward to the challenge."

As part of the proposals, John Frost Square will be remodelled, featuring the existing collapsing clock together with a new water feature.

Modus' plans also include a boulevard along Kingsway and landscaped river frontage with a new public space called Usk Place.

The development will promote the riverside as a place where people can gather to eat, drink and watch the world go by among fountains, glass paving, and modern street furniture.

To this end, a landscaped area, called Riverside Park, will be located between the Riverfront arts centre, Usk Place and the proposed university campus, and will provide a waterside promenade.

The park will also feature an informal amphitheatre and showcase external art pieces.

Graham Moore, chief executive of city regeneration firm Newport Unlimited, said: "It is exciting news that the regeneration of the heart of the city has taken a major step forward.

"The retail development will transform the city as we know it, and re-establish Newport as a prime regional shopping centre, giving the people of Newport much more choice, as well as a vastly improved environment."

Pedestrian links across the site are to be achieved via Llanarth Street and Austin Friars - both of which are to be extended and developed to connect with the riverfront.

Austin Friars is also to be connected with the riverside by a new footbridge.

The bus station is to be transformed and integrated with the Galleria centre.

Mr Moore added: "It is our vision to create a sustainable city where people can live closer to where they work and shop and make Newport a major economic driver."

"This scheme is a major step forward to achieving this objective."