Asda says new store could create 400 jobs

The �25m store, which is subject to planning permission, is expected to be its biggest in Northern Ireland.

It is planned for a site on the town's Ballymena Road, alongside the Junction One centre.

Asda moved into the Northern Ireland market last year with the acquisition and refurbishment of 13 former Safeway stores across the province.

The company says it is seeking new development opportunities to grow its NI store base to 20 within the next two to three years.

The store in Antrim would have a selling area of 55,000 square feet and car parking facilities for 650 vehicles.

"Since we launched in the province at the end of 2005, the positive response from local consumers, coupled with the performance of the 13 stores, has exceeded all our expectations," Asda's NI director, John Deasy said.

This had "encouraged us to focus our efforts on finding suitable new sites as quickly as possible to enable us to extend the ASDA offering to more parts of the country," he added.