VISAKHAPATNAM: Vice-President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday laid the foundation stone of an international convention centre at APIIC Grounds here in Vizag city. UAE-based Lulu Group will build the convention centre along with a five-star hotel and a mall on a 13-acre site at a total cost of Rs 2,000 crore. Through a PPP route the LuLu Group would set up an integrated project, comprising of 7,000 seating capacity world-class convention centre, 20 lakh sq feet shopping mall and a luxury hotel on the beach road in the Harbour Park area of Vizag city aimed to making it a global destination for Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism. CMD of LuLu Group Yusuf Ali said that the project would be completed in 3 years and once completed, the project will create more than 5,000 direct and indirect employment to another 5,000. “We hope to complete this prestigious project by 2021.It’ll also provide a world-class shopping experience to both tourists and the residents of the sunrise state,” he said. The mall will have more than 200 national and international brands, 2 lakh sq. feet hypermarket, 11 screen multiplex, family entertainment centre, food courts with 2,500 seats and more than 20 F&B outlets and fine dining concepts.
“We have made investments worth $2 billion (Rs 14,000 crore) in India and is looking at possibilities for further investment in retail, hospitality and food processing in various parts of the country. AP is the newest state in India with tremendous potential for investments in various sectors especially in hospitality and retail, he added.
