Lulu Group plans to construct US$361.43m mall in Ahmedabad
INDIA – UAE-based Lulu Group International is set to invest Rs 3,000 crore (US$361.43m) in setting up India’s biggest shopping mall at Ahmedabad, marking an expansive move in the world’s second most populous country.
The construction of the shopping mall, which would have all modern facilities, will start early next year, after finalizing the acquisition of land where the project would be constructed, said Lulu Group Director of Marketing and Communications V Nandakumar.
The blueprint of the Ahmedabad-based mall shows it will have more than 300 national and international brands, along with 15-screen multiplex cinemas with Imax and a 3,000-people capacity food court with multi-cuisine restaurants.
Additionally, the mall will have the country’s biggest children’s amusement center among many other attractions.
“We aim to make Ahmedabad one of the most prolific shopping destinations in India and there is no doubt that this Shopping Mall will be a milestone destination for everyone in India and abroad,” added Nandakumar.
The development comes after an MoU was signed between Lulu Group and the Gujarat government in the recently held UAE road show by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in Dubai.
Known for its sprawling business interests worldwide, Lulu Group has sought to expand in India after having a prominent presence in the southern parts of the country for many years.
World-renowned purveyor of an international business portfolio that ranges from hypermarket operations to shopping mall development, manufacturing, and trading of goods, hospitality assets, and real estate, runs its popular supermarkets in the cities of Kochi, Bengaluru, and Thiruvananthapuram.
Lulu Group, which also opened another expansive supermarket in Lucknow to the public that attracted an investment of around RS 2,000 crores (US$240.95m), has an annual turnover of US$8 billion and a staff force of more than 60,000.
The Lucknow mall is expected to provide more than 15,000 direct and indirect job opportunities, while the Kochi mall is said to provide over 10,000 job opportunities, natives included.
The group, owned by an Indian businessman and billionaire M. A. Yusuff Ali, mainly operates in 23 countries located across the Middle East, Asia, the US, and Europe.
The 66-year-old billionaire founded Lulu Hypermarket in 2000 and now has operations in 22 countries and currently has 235 retail stores in total.
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