WORK on the new Asda store in Cwmbran is now in its final stages, with just days to go until its official opening.

The superstore, the centrepiece in a £19 million redevelopment of the town centre by owners Prudential and Cwmbran Shopping, will open its doors on Monday.

It will eventually replace the store in Monmouth Square and comprise car parking on two levels for 850 cars.

The car park will be opened on Sunday and the taxi rank will be restored to the site in General Rees Square from its temporary home in Caradoc Road.

On the same day, a new glass lift will also become operational, taking shoppers from the new car park to the first floor of The Parade.

However, the new car park will only be for short-term parking (three hours), with long-term parking remaining at Llywelyn car park, underneath the existing Asda.

As of this week, pedestrians can once again walk from the town centre to the Sainsburys store on Llywelyn Road, through the upper deck of the new car park, instead of the previous route from Level One of the Llywelyn car park.

Next Tuesday will see the removal of the temporary disabled ramp in The Parade and work will begin on reinstating the Caradoc Road parking facilities outside McDonald's.

That car park will be closed for approximately two weeks during these works.