J&K L-G Manoj Sinha at the mall’s bhumi pujan. (PTI)
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ALMOST a year after CEOs from several Gulf countries visited the Valley to explore investment opportunities, the UAE-based Emaar Group, the developer of the Burj Khalifa, marked its entry into J&K by announcing a shopping mall and an IT tower in Srinagar.
The announcement came on a day Srinagar hosted an India-UAE investors’ meet similar to the one held in March last year.
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The J&K government said Emaar’s projects mark the first foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Union Territory.
J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha performed the ‘Bhumi Pujan’ (prayer ceremony)’ for the 10-lakh sq. foot mega-mall — “Mall of Srinagar” — and an IT tower at Sempora on the outskirts of Srinagar. He said an IT tower will also come up in Jammu.
“An IT tower of Rs 150 crore will be set up in Jammu. Land has been given for it. Its ground-breaking ceremony will be held next month,” Sinha said, adding the Emaar projects in Srinagar and Jammu will boost employment avenues.
“Overall, it’s an investment of Rs 500 crore. I think the long standing dream of people of Jammu and Kashmir especially Srinagar and surroundings will be fulfilled… I think Jammu and Kashmir is moving towards industrial progress,” he added
Emaar Properties CEO Amit Jain said “Mall of Srinagar” will have 500 shops, many of which are expected to be run by UAE-based companies.
Emaar was part of a group of around 36 CEOs from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Saudi Arabia, that visited Kashmir last year to explore investment opportunities.
The government said it had invited the CEOs, most of them from the real estate, hospitality, development, food processing and agriculture sectors,
to allay their concerns over the situation in J&K by offering them a “first-hand” experience.
LG Sinha called Sunday’s India-UAE Summit a “unique” opportunity for a “free and frank” exchange of views on investment opportunities in J&K. “Today is a historic day,” Sinha told the foreign investors.
“With the Bhoomi Pujan of 10-lakh sq. foot Mall of Srinagar by Emaar, the first FDI in Jammu and Kashmir has taken shape,” he said as he invited business leaders from the UAE to invest in J&K and become “partners in J&K’s development”.
Sunday’s foreign investors’ meet was also attended by members of the UAE-India Business Council (UIBC), the official joint business chamber set up for promoting economic synergy between India and the UAE.
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“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 administration,” Sinha said at the meeting.