Dubai’s Emaar Group will build a $60 million shopping and office complex in Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost part of India.
The Jammu and Kashmir government said Emaar’s project, called ‘Mall of Srinagar’, marks the first foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Union Territory. The announcement came on a day Srinagar hosted an India-UAE investors’ meet.
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has been relatively peaceful over the past couple of years, and the picturesque and natural resource-rich state has been trying hard to attract investment. Officials from the Union Territory, with the support of the central government, were out in large numbers during Expo 2020, showcasing the various opportunities and incentives.
Amit Jain, CEO of Emaar Properties India, said at a ground-breaking ceremony: “This is the start, we should inspire people, people should aspire to follow us. This is a one million square feet mall with 500 shops and will generate around 7,000 to 8,000 jobs.”
It was also revealed that LuLu Group will be setting up its first hypermarket in J&K at the Mall of Srinagar. It will be the anchor store at the property with nearly 100,000 sq. feet retail space and will employ about 1,500 youth from the region.
J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said Emaar will be building the one million square foot mega-mall and an IT tower in Sempora region of Srinagar, and have also been allocated land in the town of Jammu for a second IT tower.
“Today is a historic day. With the Bhoomi Pujan (ground-breaking ceremony) of the Mall of Srinagar by Emaar, the first FDI in Jammu and Kashmir has taken shape,” Sinha said during the India-UAE summit adding business leaders from the UAE have been invited to invest in J&K and become ‘partners’ in J&K’s development.
“Jammu and Kashmir has made impressive progress with structural reforms in recent years and the growth trajectory makes it an attractive investment destination. We will ensure the investors receive every kind of assistance, facilitation and support from the administration.
“An IT tower will be set up in Jammu. Land has been given for it. Its ground-breaking ceremony will be held next month. Overall, it’s an investment of ₹500 crore ($60.5 million). I think the long-standing dream of people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially Srinagar and its surroundings, will be fulfilled… Jammu and Kashmir is moving towards industrial progress.”
The central government said last week that J&K had received a record investment of 15 billion rupees ($181 million) in the first 10 months of the 2022-23 (April-March) fiscal year.
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