UAE-based Lulu group to invest Rs 400 cr to set up food park in Kerala

The UAE-based retail major Lulu Group on Tuesday said it will invest Rs 400 crore to set up food park in Kerala.

The announcement was made by Lulu group Chairman Yusuffali MA during food sector exhibition, Gulfood'22 being held in Dubai World Trade Centre.

"As part of strengthening its own food processing centres in India, Lulu will invest Rs 400 crore for setting up a state-of-the-art food park in Kalalmassery in Kerala," Lulu said in a statement.

This is over and above the recent investments of Rs 1,100 crore in Noida, Srinagar and Kochi.

The project is expected to be operational by fourth quarter of 2023.

Lulu also said it has imported the first consignment of Indian eggs, which was banned for the past 15 years in the UAE.

Four containers of Indian eggs have reached Lulu stores after the ban was lifted recently.

Last month, the Lulu group will invest Rs 200 crore in Jammu and Kashmir to set up a food processing and logistics hub.

In December, the Lulu group announced an investment of Rs 2,000 crore near Ahmedabad to set up a modern shopping mall.

It has also announced an investment of Rs 500 crore to set up a food processing plant in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

In India, the Lulu group already has four operational shopping malls at Kochi, Thrissur, Trivandrum and Bengaluru.

The mall at Bengaluru is not owned by the Lulu group but it is managing and operating the property.

The Lulu group, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, posted an annual turnover of USD 7.4 billion in 2020.

The Lulu group currently has 220 hypermarkets and shopping malls in the Middle East, Egypt, India, Malaysia and Indonesia with a global workforce of over 57,000 employees.

The group's business portfolio ranges from hypermarket operations to shopping mall development, manufacturing and trading of goods, food processing plants, wholesale distribution, hospitality assets, and real estate development.