Guj Ambuja To Foray Into Retail Shopping

Gujarat Ambuja Cements is making a foray into retail shopping mall business piggyback Bengal Ambuja Housing Development, its joint venture with the West Bengal government.

Bengal Ambuja Housing Development managing director Harsh Vardhan Neotia said the company has already acquired six acres of land to develop a Rs 80-crore shopping mall at Salt Lake in Calcutta. Noted architect Charles Correa will design the complex.

The project, which is on the drawing board, will be completed in three years. Bhumi puja is expected to be performed in September-October, he said.

"This is the first such place in eastern India where people would drop in for shopping with leisure. Entertainment (like games and movie theatre), eating joints and health club will be available, along with the traditional shopping complex, under the same roof," he said.

In addition, the company will provide office accommodation to corporates on rent.

Gujarat Ambuja Housing is in touch with a number of retailers, including MusicWorld, Shoppers' End and McDonald's, to provide them accommodation. The company may also go in for part ownership of the complex.

The project will largely be funded by internal accruals. The rest will be borrowed from banks and institutions, and the company will take advances from interested parties, a typical practice in the real estate industry.

The company, which was set up primarily to augment the supply of housing in the state, particularly in the urban areas, has completed several projects. However, it has no plans to go public at the moment. "We may consider an initial public offering only if we need a huge funds to finance a housing project," Neotia said.

The company has recently started developing lands at district towns like Durgapur, Burdwan and Malda. It will also develop a five-acre parcel of land at Rajarhat on the outskirts of the city where the state government is setting up a huge housing complex.