International BusinessWork on Gujarat's largest mall put on back burner
Work on Gujarat"s second largest mall project has been suspended. With Niho Construction Ltd, the flagship construction and development company of Delhi-based Krishna Group, switching to a "wait-and-watch" mode, work on the upcoming 800,000 sq ft mall-cum-multiplex, Scottish City Centre has been suspended.
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Expected to be the second largest mall in Gujarat when ready, after the ISCON Mega Mall of JP Infrastructure, the project has been delayed by over a year. “We waited for sometime for the market to improve. But things are not as rosy as we expected it to be. Hence, we have deferred the project by over an year or so. But, we will definitely complete the project once the market improves," said Neeraj Karoul, general manager, Niho Construction Ltd. Moreover, the company is reworking its investment plans for the state as well. As against the deadline of early 2010, Scottish City Centre may now be commissioned in late 2010 or 2011.
However, after signing a couple of agreements with retail brands for the mall, the company is confident of finding brands for the project in the near future. "We have already signed a couple of agreements. Once work resumes on the project, we are hopeful of get more brands," Karoul added.
Niho Construction was expected to invest around Rs 1,000 crore in Gujarat for residential and commercial projects. However, the company is now reconsidering the investment amount. Apart from the liquidity crunch caused by global meltdown, the company is also struggling to purchase raw materials.
Niho Construction is in various stages of land acquisition for township projects in Anand, Jamnagar and Gandhidham. Apart from Gujarat, the company is also venturing into seven others states including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Goa.