Keralite businessman Yussuf Ali’s Lulu Group setting up Rs 500-cr food park in UP
Rs 500-cr Lulu Group project to directly source fruits and vegetables from UP farmers
In an effort aimed at ensuring better revenues for the farmers in Uttar Pradesh, the Middle East-based retail and food processing giant Lulu Group is all set to establish a 100 percent export-oriented Food and Agri-produce Processing Park in Greater Noida. The Lulu Group is owned by Keralite businessman M A Yusuff Ali, whose business empire is spread across the Middle East and other parts of the world.
The Land Allotment Order for 20 acres was, on Wednesday, handed over to Lulu Group Chairman M A Yusuff Ali by Narendra Bhoosan, CEO Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Lulu Group project initial investment at Rs 500 cr
The Lulu Group Chairman briefed the UP Chief Minister about the various details of this world-class facility, which is expected to come up as a great support to the agriculture sector in the state. The Lulu group will be procuring and exporting close to 20,000 tons of local fruits and vegetables annually to its hypermarkets around the world.
“We will be directly sourcing from the farmers of Uttar Pradesh, ensuring better revenues for them,” said Lulu Group Chairman Yusuff Ali. The proposed facility is expected to start operations in eight months and estimates a turnover of around Rs. 3,000 crore, sources close to the development said.
To be kicked off with an initial investment of Rs 500 crore, the proposed state-of-the-art unit will generate direct employment for 700 people and indirect employment for nearly 1,500 people, the source added.
Rs 2K-crore Lulu Mall to be functional in April next year
Besides the Food and Agri-produce Processing Park to be set up in Greater Noida, Yussuf Ali also said that a Rs 2,000-crore Lulu Mall which will house the largest hypermarket in the country, is in the final stages of completion and will be inaugurated in the first week of April 2022.
The 22 lakh sq. ft. shopping mall is coming up at Amar Shaheed Path which will have 220 national and international brands, a world-class family entertainment centre, food court and restaurants offering global cuisine, and 11 screens to be run by PVR Cinema. The mall will house a parking capacity for 3,000 vehicles.
Pointing out that the project was delayed by a year owing to Covid-related challenges, the Lulu Group chairman said, “I am sure this will be a landmark shopping and leisure destination in this part of India. Once completed the Lulu Mall will employ more than 5,000 directly while another 10,000 people will get indirect employment.”
Lulu Group currently owns as many as 220 hypermarkets and shopping malls in the Middle East, Egypt, India, Malaysia and Indonesia. These malls employ a global workforce of over 57,000 employees.
