A Legislative Assembly inquiry has found the developer should sign an agreement with the ACT government and community to guarantee work will begin at the site, and should also publicly release its reasons for retaining the lease on the block.

Giralang Properties director Dimitri Nikias, whose family has owned the site since 1975, said he expected to be able to share more with the community in the first quarter of 2022 about progress on the site and the owners remained fully committed to the project.

"We welcome the inquiry's finding that the current [development application] could be amended to allow a larger supermarket and for construction to begin within the timeframes of current approvals, which is a start prior to July 2023," Mr Nikias said.

Mr Nikias said since the inquiries hearings earlier this year issues with cleaning up the construction site and perimeter fencing security had been resolved.

"We will give the interim report due consideration and respond accordingly," he said.

The inquiry also found the ACT government should also write to Harris Farm Supermarkets, Woolworths, Aldi and IGA to seek advice whether the supermarket operators would consider opening at Giralang.

The Legislative Assembly's standing committee on planning, transport and city services found the owner of the Giralang shops site had not been able to confirm a "tangible plan or timeline for how to and when they will deliver the shops development".

The committee released an interim report on Tuesday following an inquiry into the protracted development saga, which was prompted by a community petition signed by more than 500 people.

The committee recommended the ACT government write to the owner of the Giralang shops site, Giralang Properties, to outline the process of surrendering the lease for the site and seek confirmation whether Giralang Properties would hand the site back to the territory or whether it still intended to complete its redevelopment.

"The committee recommends that if the owner of the Giralang shops site determines they will not surrender the crown lease to the ACT government that the owner of the Giralang shops site enter a memorandum of understanding with the ACT government which outlines the steps that will be taken to progress the development and the timeframes for these," the committee's interim report said.

The committee said the memorandum of understanding should be made publicly available and be finalised before June 30, 2022.

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The Giralang shops site has sat dormant for almost 15 years, but Mr Nikias has always remained committed to completing the redevelopment project.

"Despite many setbacks, Giralang Properties have remained fully committed to achieving a successful, substantial redevelopment of our lease. This can be evidenced by our repeated [development] applications. At no time have we stopped trying to find the right solution for a financially viable centre that will be here for the long term," Mr Nikias told the inquiry in May.

"We reject any notion that we have been land banking. That does not make sense financially for us, given that we have invested so much time, money and effort to date in trying to get up a successful development. We remain committed to finding a viable commercial solution for the shops."

Mr Nikias said Giralang Properties was on track to deliver the project with an approved development application in 2011 for a 1500-square-metre supermarket, with a formal lease signed with Woolworths.

"Unfortunately, we were forced to stop due to legal challenges which went on for years, all the way up to the High Court, at massive cost to us. As a way of stopping further legal action in the future, the ACT government decided that it would restrict the size of our supermarket. Then Woolworths withdrew their offer, since it was no longer a 1500 square metre floor spare," he said.

The ACT government changed its planning rules earlier this year that would again allow a 1500-square-metre supermarket at the Giralang site, up from its previous limit of 1000 square metres.

"I know that Giralang is a viable place to operate a supermarket from. I think the fact that I haven't been able to secure one is that those national firms are trying to compete against Kaleen, and Kaleen is twice the size," Mr Nikias told The Canberra Times after the rule was changed.

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