Dubai’s Emaar group to develop shopping mall in Kashmir

Dubai-based realty firm Emaar Properties on Monday said it will develop a 5 lakh square feet shopping mall at Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir, Press Trust of India reported. 

The governments of Dubai and Jammu & Kashmir have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate investment in the proposed project, Emaar said in a statement.

“The UAE and India are comprehensive strategic partners and this project by EMAAR will be a landmark of Jammu and Kashmir. I would like to congratulate EMAAR and all the partners in this project , and am sure we will see many such projects coming up in the near future,” Ahmed Abdul Rahman Albanna, the UAE Ambassador to India, told the PTI.

“The UAE and India economic partnership is at an inflection point and we will invite other UAE investors to look at this opportunity too,” he said.

Mohamed Alabbar, Founder of Emaar, said the company intends to bring a world-class mall experience to residents of Jammu and Kashmir and also the tourists.

“EMAAR is also considering other investments into real estate, hospitality and mixed use commercial and residential projects in Jammu and in Srinagar,” Alabbar said.

“The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has created a very attractive investment landscape, and this FDI project is a reflection of the close brotherly relations between UAE and India. We are looking forward to several projects being announced in the near future and significant employment opportunities being created in the process,” said Aman Puri, Consul General of India in Dubai is quoted to have said. 

Emaar Properties entered the Indian real estate market in 2005 by partnering with India’s MGF group and investing Rs 8,500 crore into joint venture Emaar MGF Land.

In April 2016, it decided to end the joint venture.

In January 2018, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved Emaar MGF Land’s proposed demerger scheme, paving the way for two joint venture partners – Emaar Properties and MGF Development – to separate.

Emaar India is developing real estate projects mainly in Delhi-NCR and Punjab.