Dubai-based Emaar, a real estate developer from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has become the first overseas company to invest in a mega-mall spread over 10 lakh square feet in Srinagar, a first since the Centre ended Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional position in 2019.
Describing the project as “a new dawn of limitless possibilities”, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha participated in a Bhumi Pujan in Srinagar’s Sempora area on March 19 as part of the ceremony of laying the mall’s foundation stone. “We are taking forward the Prime Minister’s vision for the development of J&K. Mall of Srinagar will have a transformative impact on the Union Territory (UT) and boost the infrastructure, employment generation and ease of living,” Mr. Sinha said.
First major FDI
The mega-mall is the first significant Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) investment in Jammu and Kashmir, according to an official statement. The Emaar group plans to invest ₹250 crore to set up the mega-mall, tipped to be one of the largest malls in the region with over 500 shops. A joint venture of Emaar and Delhi-based real estate firm Magna Waves BuildTech, the mall is likely to become operational by 2026.
According to a spokeswoman of the Paris-based company Rothschild & Co., the family is offering to take the flagship bank private in a $4 billion deal.
In the late 90s secret meetings took place in London where the blueprint for the ‘development’ of an entire Indian state was envisioned. Called Vision 2020, the scheme was the brainchild of an American consultancy firm born out of US military – McKinsey. It was supposed to be a role model and exported to other states of India and later to the entire developing world. Although amidst widespread opposition the people of Andhra Pradesh destroyed this ‘world’s most dangerous economic experiment’ dubbed at the time as ‘the return of the East India Company’.
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