The Hindu : Business : Gulf Finance to invest $10 b in Maharashtra

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Saturday, Dec 15, 2007
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Gulf Finance to invest $10 b in Maharashtra

Special Correspondent

To set up Economic Development Zone

Project to come up on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway
The zone will focus on energy, software, telecom

— PHOTO: PAUL NORONHA

MEGA PROJECT: Vilasrao Deshmukh (left), Chief Minister of Maharashtra, with Esam Yousif Janahi, Chairman, Gulf Finance House, at a press conference in Mumbai on Friday.

MUMBAI: Gulf Finance House (GFH), an investment bank based out of the West Asian region with projects world-wide, has signed a wide ranging agreement with the Government of Maharashtra to create one of the largest development projects in the State — an Economic Development Zone (EDZ) on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

The 1,600 acre zone, which will attract a total investment in excess of $10 billion, comes a year after GFH signed a similar agreement with the state for the development of India’s first energy business district — Energy City India. GFH had floated a successful private placement initiative earlier this year and raised $630 million towards the first phase of the project. According to a company statement, the EDZ will include Energy City India, apart from incorporating three additional components — Telecom City Mumbai, Software City Mumbai and Entertainment City Mumbai.

Vilasrao Deshmukh, Chief Minister, Maharashtra, said, “We welcome the initiative by GFH to enlarge the scope of the project by developing it as an `Integrated Economic Development Zone. The project will help in the establishment of a knowledge and creative zone near Mumbai and will result in the creation of large-scale high-end jobs.”

Esam Janahi, Chairman, GFH, said, “The opportunities that India offers within the infrastructure and its allied sectors, such as energy, software and telecommunications are tremendous.”

Peter Panayiotou, CEO, GFH, said, “The specific business sectors that the EDZ will focus on — energy, software and telecom — have emerged as key drivers within the Indian economy.

Energy City is planned over an area in excess of 600 acres with an estimated total development value of $2.8 billion. It is only the second Energy City in a series of energy focussed business clusters planned across West Asia and Asia, the first being in Qatar and the latest being in China.

Software City and Telecom City will be spread over 300-400 acres and the project is organised into two overlapping phases involving the development of infrastructure and in the second phase, development, sale or rental of the buildings themselves.

Entertainment City is to be developed over 300-400 acres and will be located at the heart of the GFH’s master planned EDZ. It will be a mix of hospitality, leisure and recreational facilities with complementary commercial and residential components. It will offer theme parks, theme hotels, speciality shopping, fine dining restaurants, cinemas, a theatre and alternative entertainment components.

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