With less than two weeks to the new Asda supermarket in Newton Abbot opens, Paul Musgrave, construction manager of Asda, handed over the keys to store manager Chris Tilly on Monday. The £28 million store, which will employ more than 330 staff, will open its doors on August 17. 'Before opening we'll have support coming from other stores in the cluster to help us get ready for opening. It is a really exciting time for us all,' said Craig Doughty, day trading manager at Asda. 'It's been a real team effort as staff from Newton Abbot have been going to Asda stores at Bridgwater, Plymouth and Taunton to train.' Newton Abbot is only the second store Asda has opened in the county. Mr Musgrave said the 40,000 sq ft store was in an ideal spot in the market town. 'It is in a perfect location and so close to the town centre,' he said. 'It is an area we have been looking at for a while. We've taken into account the demographics and looked into tourism in the area.' Mr Tilly is pleased that the 15-month project, in partnership with ASM, has now come to fruition. 'It is hard to believe we've reached the final milestone in this project. It has been an exciting undertaking and I am relishing finally being handed the reins. It looks great and my colleagues love it. It is bigger and brighter than we all thought. We still have a lot to do, but I am confident we'll have a fantastic opening.' To mark the opening, Mr Tilly is planning to bury a time capsule. 'Now that people can see the car park all finished and the road works being tidied up I think they will be more confident about Asda,' said Mr Tilly. He also said that shoppers might well go into the town centre to shop once they've finished in Asda. 'We've worked hard with the Town Centre Forum and local businesses and have looked into car parking. We decided to have a three-hour slot. 'Usually supermarkets only give shoppers two hours. This was done to give people the chance to have time to go into town as well as use Asda.' Patrick Tinkler, events co-ordinator, is organising a fashion show for the store's clothing in aid of the Stroke Association and Teignbridge Young Carers at Coombeshead College theatre on Sunday at 7.30pm.