Hyderabad: UAE-based retail giant Lulu Group has announced an investment of Rs 3,500 crore in Telangana. This investment, set to take place over five years, will encompass food processing, retail, food sourcing, and logistics.
Lulu Group chairman Yusuff Ali MA unveiled the investment plan at a press conference here on Monday. Telangana industries minister KT Rama Rao was also present.
Yusuff Ali said the investments are an outcome of several discussions and a memorandum of understanding signed between Lulu Group and the Telangana government during Rama Rao's visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos last year.
"The group initially promised to invest about Rs 500 crore in the State but has now increased its investment to Rs 3,500 crore,” said Rama Rao. He said the State is witnessing green (agriculture), blue (fisheries), pink (meat), white (dairy) and yellow (oil) revolutions on the back of the Kaleshwaram project. The State has decided to set up special food processing zones in about 10,000 acre to support these revolutions.
The conglomerate has so far invested over Rs 20,000 crore in the country so far across shopping malls, hotels, and food processing units in India. “We have started the construction of a shopping mall in Ahmedabad. And also another one in Chennai we are coming up. A food processing plant is coming up in Noida and another one in Telangana. It is Rs 10,000 crore investments in the next three years,” Yusuff Ali said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi liberalised NRI investment laws and all investments by non-resident Indians are treated as domestic investments.
He said his aim was to provide employment to 50,000 people in India and so far his various enterprises have given over 22,000 jobs.
He said Lulu Mall, earlier known as Manjeera Mall, will be launched in August. It has seen an investment of Rs 300 crore. It will offer an international shopping experience. Spanning over 5 lakh square feet, Lulu Mall will house a Hypermarket, have more than 75 brands, a five-screen cinema with a seating capacity of 1,400, a multi-cuisine food court, and a children's entertainment center. The project is expected to generate employment opportunities for over 2,000 personnel.
It will also establish a modern export-oriented meat processing unit at Chengicherla with an investment of Rs 200 crore. This facility, projected to commence operations within the next 18 months, will have a production capacity of 60 tonnes per day and create employment opportunities for more than 2,500 personnel.
Lulu Group also plans to create a Destination Mall in Hyderabad with Rs 2,000 crore. It has seen three sites for this and the location will be finalised shortly. Mini malls will come up on the outskirts and other major cities and towns in Telangana, with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore.
Among others, the group plans to establish an agriculture sourcing and logistics hub near Hyderabad Airport to facilitate exports and promote Telangana produce across India and the world. It also announced plans to set up a seafood procurement and processing centre.
Hyderabad will become the sixth city in India where Lulu Group has a presence, joining Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru, Lucknow, and Coimbatore.
