The Abu Dhabi based Lulu Group has committed to invest Rs 3,500 crore in Telangana over the next five years.
Lulu projects in the state would be in the food processing and retail etc sectors.
Lulu Group’s investment in Telangana is the outcome of discussions and an MoU it signed with the BRS government during industries minister KT Rama Rao’s visit to World Economic Forum in Davos last year, said Yusuff Ali MA, Chairman, Lulu, who met with KTR in Hyderabad on Monday.
Hyderabad will become the sixth city after Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru, Lucknow, and Coimbatore where the group is operating in the country.
In 2019, Lulu pulled out from a Rs 2200 crore project it planned in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam after Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy canceled its agreement with the previous Chandrababu Naidu government to build an international convention centre, shopping mall and a five star hotel. The YSRCP government revoked the project’s land allotment in a prime area in the scenic port city.
The proposed investment of Rs 3,500 crore now in Telangana over the next five years includes a destination shopping mall in Hyderabad costing Rs 2,000 crore and mini malls on the capital city outskirts and other major towns in the state with an investment outlay of Rs 1,000 crore.
Ali told reporters that Lulu Group is all set to make an entry in Telangana “as the first Lulu Mall and Lulu Hypermarket is getting ready in the city.” With an investment of Rs 300 crore, the group is re-branding the five lakh square feet Manjeera Mall at Kukatpally “to offer international shopping experience to customers here.” It is likely to be inaugurated in August 2023.
Lulu is investing Rs 200 crore on an export-oriented modern integrated meat processing plant at Chengicherla with a production capacity of 60 tonnes per day. The project will generate employment for more than 2,500 personnel. Commercial operations expected to start at the facility in the next 18 months, a press statement said.
Lulu group also plans for an agriculture sourcing and logistics hub near the Hyderabad airport for facilitating exports and promotion of local Telangana produce across India and the world. The group's other plans include a seafood procurement and processing center.