Swedish furniture giant IKEA to begin work on biggest outlet in Noida

The company has committed to completing the project by 2025.

Swedish flat-pack furniture giant IKEA will soon begin work at its Noida outlet, touted to be its biggest store in India.

The company had signed an MoU with the Uttar Pradesh government in December 2018 for Rs 5,000-crore investment in Noida and other cities in the state. It has committed to completing the project by 2025.

State Industries Minister Satish Mahana said 47,833 square metre land had been allotted to the company, but work did not take off due to pending payments.

"All issues have been cleared and the company has committed to finishing the project by 2025. I have issued directions to ensure the company gets quick possession of land," he said on Thursday.

IKEA, which opened its first outlet in India in Hyderabad in 2018, has proposed to set up an integrated commercial project in Noida giving direct employment to 1,000 and indirect jobs to another 1,000.

The company intends to expand to 40 cities by 2030.

Officials said, IKEA initially signed an MoU with the previous government in 2015 to set up three stores in Lucknow, Agra and Noida with an investment of Rs 500-crore in each city.

However, its plans evolved over the years and a fresh MoU was signed in 2018.

Sources said, a typical IKEA store has an average size of 4,00,000 square feet. Since it is difficult to find such a large space within a city, the company is looking to change its model and develop smaller stores, either standalone or even within malls.