Bangalore, March 17, 2005
After building royal palaces, majestic villas, grandiose
mosques and posh hotels in the Gulf, a non-resident
Indian has set his sights on India's Silicon Valley
to build the country's largest retail mall.
P.N.C. Menon, who has lived in Oman for the last
three decades, is embarking on his new venture - Sobha
Global Mall in the heart of the city at an estimated
cost of Rs.15 billion ($345 million).
"As of today, our upcoming mall project will
be the largest in India, spread over 17 acres with
a built up area of 2.8 million sq. feet. The mall
complex is being developed on the site where old Minerva
Mills of the National Textile Corporation (NTC) was
located. It was bought for Rs.660 million ($15 million)
in an open auction.
Apart from a shopping complex, an amusement park,
192-room plush hotel, convention centre, multiplex
and smart offices, the mall will boast of an Olympic
size ice skating rink, the first of its kind in the
sub-continent," Menon told reporters Thursday.
Menon set up the Sobha Group, the Indian subsidiary
of Muscat-based Services & Trade Group (S&T),
with the aim of introducing international benchmarks
and expertise in the Indian construction industry.
The group's parent company has presence in Qatar and
the UAE.
To be jointly developed with Davnam Constructions
Ltd, headed by former Karnataka minister D.K. Shivkumar,
the mall will also have parking bays for about 4,500
cars at a time and a discotheque that will accommodate
over 1,000 people.
"We are taking up the project in phases to build
the mall in a modular way and it will become operational
from 2008-09. We intend to make the mall a one-stop
destination having everything from high end luxury
goods to economy shopping, exciting recreational activities
and social and business interaction opportunities,"
Menon said.
With Bangalore emerging as the hub of well-heeled
travellers and opinionated consumers, the mall will
address a full spectrum of social-cum-business requirements.
"We are also planning to have a contemporary
business tower along with the convention centre to
meet the needs of modern establishments. I came to
India with a dream of bringing international quality
to the local construction industry," he said.
World-renowned architect and design consultant Neil
Jeffrey is associated with the project, which is expected
to create about 10,000 direct and indirect jobs when
fully operational.
The Rs.10 billion ($230 million) Sobha group has
built Infosys' campuses across the country, including
its latest corporate leadership institute in Mysore.
The group is projecting a turnover of Rs.12 billion
in fiscal 2005-06 based on the estimates
of a dozen projects it is handling presently. (IANS)
