GERMAN supermarket chain Aldi will reinvest nearly $200 million into its Australian operations to fund its ambitious growth plans of opening as many as 30 new stores over the next year and peeling away more customers from industry heavyweights Coles and Woolworths.

However, the retailer, which is known for its limited product range and steep discounting, has complained that onerous planning laws have locked it out of certain suburbs across the east coast of Australia, constricting the benefits for consumers in the process.

Aldi said it would invest $183 million in its new stores this year as well as a warehouse as its annual revenue from its Australian operations pushes towards $1 billion.

A spokeswoman for Aldi told BusinessDay the supermarket retailer had 251 stores across the east coast of Australia as at the end of calendar 2010 with a further 14 stores added to the network so far this year .

Future store openings were forecast to be in line with Aldi's historical store openings of 25 to 30 stores per year, she said.