Hyderabad: The UAE-based retailer Lulu Group on Wednesday inaugurated its first shopping mall in Hyderabad as part of its commitment made three years back to invest Rs 3,500 crore in Telangana.
“Today, we are inaugurating our first shopping mall in Hyderabad. This is our first venture in Telangana. We are planning multiple investments in the state. Our second project will be an export-oriented food processing facility, including meat processing, in Hyderabad,” said Lulu chairman M.A. Yusuff Ali on Wednesday.
IT and industries minister KT Rama Rao inaugurated the mall, while UAE Consul General Aaref Al Nuaimi opened LuLu Hypermarket.
He said Lulu’s investment in Hyderabad was the outcome of several discussions that the company had with the government of Telangana during industry minister KT Rama Rao’s visit to the World Economic Forum last year in Davos. “K.T. Rama Rao was working day and night at the last World Economic Forum to meet the investors, and I was really impressed by his hard work and dedication," he added.
The Lulu chairman said the group is also planning to establish a seafood procurement and processing centre in Siricilla. “We have committed ₹3,500 crore over next three years in a destination shopping mall, mini malls and agricultural produce sourcing, logistics and processing hub for facilitating 100 per cent exports as well as promotion of Telangana products across India and overseas,” he said.
Speaking at the launch, Rama Rao said he was hopeful that Lulu Group’s investment would exceed the committed ₹3,500 crore. These projects, including aquaculture and fish processing, will create job opportunities for the youth in Telangana. These will also aid in augmenting the incomes of farmers and fishermen.
“We will show the Lulu Group team more opportunities and ensure they have the best experience in India. I can promise you that you can use Telangana as a stepping stone for many good things for India and the rest of the world as well,” the minister said.
