Costco

US discount retailer Costco will set up its Australian headquarters in Sydney after the New South Wales state government approved the plan last week.

The A$58m three-storey warehouse will be built in the Sydney suburb of Auburn on Parramatta Road, and will boast 13,7002m of floor space, Foodweek reported.

"It's a great outcome for Sydney, it's a great outcome for consumers," New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally said, adding the project would create up to 130 construction jobs and up to 300 permanent jobs once complete.

Costco managing director Patrick Noone stressed that Sydney's wholesale produce markets in the nearby suburb of Flemington would not be adversely affected by the company's presence.

"We source produce from Flemington market ... we are arm-in-arm together on that," he said.

The Costco store will be open 12 hours a day, will have more than 700 car parking spaces and is expected to make A$90m worth of sales in its first year of operation.

The store in Auburn will be the company's second in Australia, after the first store was opened in Melbourne last year.