Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday laid the foundation stone for Mall of Srinagar being built by Dubai’s Emaar Group. He described it as a new dawn of limitless possibilities.
Mall of Srinagar will have a transformative impact on UT and boost infrastructure, employment generation and ease of living.
“Mall of Srinagar and allied projects with the Government of Dubai will fuel the economic growth of J&K and bring us closer to achieving the shared vision of strengthening bilateral trade and investment ties between India and UAE,” observed the Lt Governor.
The credit for the strong ties between the UAE and India goes to the strenuous efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said the Lt Governor.
He highlighted the progressive reforms introduced under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create a favourable environment for industries and business to flourish in J&K.
“Unprecedented Industrial investment and economic growth of J&K is laying the foundation for a stronger and more prosperous future for the people of Union Territory,” said the Lt Governor.
Within 22 months of implementation of the new industrial policy, we have received investment proposals from more than 5000 domestic and foreign companies. Every day, eight companies express their willingness to invest in J&K, the Lt Governor noted.
The Prime Minister has already done the groundbreaking ceremony for projects worth Rs 38,000 crore. Those who raised questions on employment post August 2019, should introspect what they have done for J&K in the past decades. Only Rs 14,000 cr industrial investment came to J&K since independence till 2019, he said.
In the last three years, we have registered phenomenal growth in different sectors and in terms of knowledge, physical and digital connectivity, Jammu and Kashmir has performed exceptionally well in the entire country, he added.
We have broadened the economic and social base of development and are offering best incentives across the country, land for industries, skilled labour, technical support, market connectivity, national and international air cargo facilities, raw materials, cheapest power, lowest crime rate, single window clearance, ease of doing business, he observed.
One lakh crore rupees worth highways and tunnels projects are going on in J&K UT. Kashmir will be connected to Kanyakumari this year. The flight operations in both Jammu & Srinagar airports have increased and international flight connectivity has been strengthened, observed the Lt Governor.
Today, peace is prevailing in Jammu Kashmir. Days of shutdowns have become history now. World has witnessed the youth and people of Pulwama, Tral, Shopian coming out of their houses in huge numbers with national flags in their hands, he noted.
Amit Jain, CEO, Emaar, said the Mall of Srinagar is one of our milestone projects and we are excited about its potential. As Emaar Group, we bring along strong relationships with leading retail brands of UAE, most of which will be launching their presence in India through this initiative, he added.
The mega-mall is the first significant FDI investment in Jammu and Kashmir to facilitate investments in marquee projects as per the MOU signed between the governments of the UAE and India. Launched by Emaar and Magna Waves Buildtech, the mall is set to become operational by 2026.
In January 2022, during the Investor meet at Dubai, J&K Government entered into a bilateral agreement with various stakeholders and Government of UAE to deliver over a billion dollars worth of projects in the valley.
These projects include the development of industrial parks, a medical college, a specialty hospital, logistics centres, IT towers, and multipurpose towers, in addition to the Mall of Srinagar by Emaar.
Those present on the occasion included Kailash Vijayvargiya, National General Secretary of BJP; Dr. Aman Puri, Consul General of the UAE; RR Bhatnagar, Advisor to Lt Governor; Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary and Nikhil Nanda, MD of Magna Waves Buildtech.