UAE-based Lulu Group to invest Rs 2,000 crore in Gujarat

The announcement was made after Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel met NRI businessman and Lulu Group Chairman and Managing Director Yusuffali MA in Dubai.

Patel led a delegation in the UAE this week to promote the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit to be held in January 2022, and make a strong pitch to global investors to capitalise on the state’s ease of doing business.

To fast-track the projects, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Dr Rajiv Kumar Gupta, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary on behalf of the Gujarat Government and Yusuffali, the Lulu Group said in a press release.

According to the MoU, Lulu Group will set up a world-class shopping mall between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, which will create employment opportunities for more than 5,000 people. The construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2022 and be completed within 30 months, the press release said.

Apart from a shopping mall, the Lulu Group will also set up food processing and logistics centres in Baroda and Surat respectively, which will facilitate exports, it said.

“I welcome Ali's promise to invest in Gujarat. The government will make every effort to ensure that land and any other assistance are provided so that they can begin work,” Chief Minister Patel said.

“Gujarat holds a very special place in my heart. This is where I first learnt the basics of business as my father had family business in Ahmedabad. So, I feel very excited to invest in Gujarat and hope we can expand further in this vibrant state,” Yusuffali said.

The Lulu Group currently operates more than 220 hypermarkets and shopping malls in the Middle East, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia and India.

Globally, it employs more than 57,000 people, with Lulu hypermarkets and department stores enjoying a 32 per cent share of the retail market in Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the release said.

The group has also invested in India's retail market with mega malls in Kerala and Uttar Pradesh. The Lulu Mall in Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow is expected to be open for shopping by March 2022.