UAE retail group launches Kochi project; plans India expansion
26 Aug 2009
The Emke Group, which operates the LuLu and Al Falah retail chains - the biggest hypermarket chain in the Middle East - is entering India with its first shopping mall in Kochi.
The group is in the process of developing the country's biggest shopping mall in Kochi, with a floor area totalling 2.2 million square feet, Gulf News quoted the group's managing director Yusuff Ali M A as saying.
The mixed-used property will include a shopping mall, a five-star hotel managed by Marriot and a commercial tower dedicated to travel, tourism and aviation industry, the group said in a website release.
"The total estimated value of the project is Dh1.1 billion and it is aimed to promote travel and leisure industry in India," Yusuffali said in the release.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of next year. Once the Kochi project is completed, the group plans to develop more such malls across India in due course.
UAE-based EMKE Group, one of the largest retail chains in the Middle East, is on a big expansion plan, involving investment of Dh4.3 billion by the end of next year. Besides the Kochi mall, the group is planning expansion across the Gulf region.
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