Prozone Aurangabad, designed to be a ‘horizontal mall’ on the lines of international developments, opened its doors to customers in a grand ceremony held recently. Spread over 20 acres, the mall promises to offer a truly multinational environment of shopping, entertainment and dining, among other facilities.
The grand opening ceremony was attended by political dignitaries, Bollywood celebrities and leaders of India’s largest retail giants such as Future Group and Shoppers Stop, among others. Also present on the occasion was David Fischel, global CEO of Capital Shopping Centres Group Plc, the leading shopping mall developer in the UK, which has co-developed the mall with Provogue (India) Ltd.
Stressing that growth opportunities are phenomenal in Aurangabad, Fischel said, “The people of Aurangabad, where half the residents are under 35 years of age, are eager for places to spend money. The city doesn’t have a bowling alley, hip nightclub, entertainment, enough retail options for everyone’s wallet or a place for families to gather for a relaxing day out. There’s no place for leisure here. We are totally committed to making the Prozone mall Marathwada’s premier retail and leisure destination. We will work hard to ensure that it becomes the pride of every citizen in the region.”
Prozone Aurangabad, a ground+1 structure with more than 1,500 parking spaces, offers world-class services and amenities and a thrilling environment involving a mix of entertainment, retail, food courts, cafés, restaurants, fine dining, banquet hall and a future hotel and commercial hub.
The mall will house India’s major retail brands, including Shoppers Stop, Star Bazaar, Westside, Pantaloons, Croma, Satyam Cineplexes, Reliance Trendz and KFC. The property also houses numerous support services including banks, ATMs, underground car parks and public transport, service alleys for transportation of goods, separate entry and exit for service vehicles, children’s play area, first-aid, staff canteen facilities, large atrium, 100 per cent power backup and logistics service providers.
The company expects the mall to attract more than six million unique visitors per year, about three times the total population of the city. Aurangabad is the first tier II city in India to develop a retail and leisure destination of this scale. The arrival of Prozone will lead to further rapid transformation of the city of Aurangabad and the Marathwada region.
A recent article on Bloomberg recounted surprise by Daimler AG on the order of over 140 Mercedes by a group of city leaders. Bloomberg reported that the community of just under two million today has undergone massive growth and development in the last few years, especially after investments from leading national and international corporates, which has created a new major hub of potential buyers and new-generation entrepreneurs.
Speaking before the opening ceremony, Nikhil Chaturvedi, managing director of Provogue and Prozone, said, “We saw the opportunity in Aurangabad from Day 1. The Aurangabad mall project has been a labour of love; we believe in the city and the passion and commitment of its government, community and businesses – we have invested a huge amount to ensure that Aurangabad will have the very best and the very first mall of international design standards of any city in India.”
Salil Chaturvedi, deputy managing director, Provogue and Prozone, noted, “The arrival of Prozone means that we’ll be bringing in tourists and business travellers to Aurangabad at a scale never seen before. And they’ll be staying longer in our city to enjoy our local lifestyle and culture and our new ‘destination mall’. Prozone was built by the people of Marathwada and it is a leisure and retail destination for the people of the region. We are extremely proud to to be opening our first mall in the city of Aurangabad.”
Prozone is an FDI-compliant joint venture company between Capital Shopping Centres Group Plc of UK and Provogue (India) Limited. The JV invests in the development of regional mixed-use centres, which include retail, entertainment, food courts, multiplexes, IT parks, hotels and other commercial and mixed-use development.
Capital Shopping Centres is a UK FTSE-100 listed property company with assets of over £5 billion (equivalent to approximately Rs.38,000 crore), of which regional mixed-use centres account for over 90 per cent of the portfolio. The company is the third largest REIT in the UK and among the top 20 in the world and owns nine of the top 21 regional shopping centres in the UK.
– IndiaRetailing Bureau
