Kolkata-based real estate developer Mani Group has planned to develop retail projects worth Rs 3,000 crore over the next four years across the country.
Discussing plans with media at the launch of Mani Square, a shopping mall on Kolkata’s Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, Subesh Ray, senior vice president and head of marketing, Mani Group, said: “We are looking at pan-India presence and will develop more retail projects within the next four years. At a later stage, we may also consider tapping the capital market through an IPO.”
The company has already booked space for building shopping malls in cities including Jaipur, Durgapur, Siliguri, Bhubaneswar and Kolkata. Put together, the constructions will add around two million square feet of retail space in the country.
Speaking about the delay in the completion of Mani Square mall, Ray said “The initial project cost was estimated at Rs 270 crore, which increased by at least 20 per cent due to rise in the price of raw material over the last one year, particularly steel. This resulted in the delay of completion.”
The mall is spread across 710,000 square feet, with more than 60 per cent of the area dedicated to retail. Apart from its four major anchors – Westside (30,000 square feet), Spencer’s Hyper (60,000 square feet), McDonald’s and eZone (15,000 square feet) – the mall is expected to house about 150 retail outlets by the end of August 2008. The third level features an entertainment zone with screens from Cinemax and IMAX theatre, in addition to a new concept called Scary House, which may be said to be India’s answer to London’s House of Horrors.
As part of its long-term development programme, Mani Square is set to invest an additional five crore rupees towards the construction of two sky bridges, a service road and a slip road to ensure hassle-free commuting for consumers. Currently, the developers are developing major IT, retail and residential projects in tier I and II cities, and these are expected to take in an investment of about Rs 2000 crore, to be raised by strategic partnerships and external associations of the group.
– Piasi Sinha, Kolkata Bureau
