The founder and chairman of the Newcastle-based Malhotra Group is set to develop a luxury golf estate designed by Masters champion Jack Nicklaus in his home city.
Meenu Malhotra announced a £150m scheme in January to create a housing, retail and leisure scheme in Ludhiana, India.
Mr Malhotra first started building up his family’s care, leisure and property company when he moved to the North East in 1978, but has long held an ambition to build a development in his home city, on a large plot of land he has owned for some time.
The “one stop shop” plan, estimated to create around 2,000 jobs, has been reduced in size since it was first announced and is now set to include the construction of 10 towers instead of 11, with 800 two, three and four bedroom apartments. There will also be a 300,000 sqft shopping mall instead of a 550,000 sqft mall, with retail outlets and restaurants, a hotel and a multiplex cinema.
Now the business leader has outlined plans for the second phase of the scheme, set to be one of the largest investments in the Malhotra Group’s 40 year history, with the development of the Imperial Golf Estate, also at Ludhiana.
Mr Malhotra revealed the plans at the Progressive Punjab Investors’ Summit, held recently in Ludhiana, where he used his speech to highlight the additional ambitious scheme for the city.
He said: “It’s our intention to develop on this site a series of world class facilities.
“This will involve a bespoke 18 hole golf course, designed by Jack Nicklaus, a five star hotel, international schools in collaboration with educational establishments in the 海角视频, a world class health farm with spa, conference facilities, a club house, upmarket fashion retail and restaurants, along with villas for 800 residents.”
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Mr Malhotra added that “it is the right time for NRIs (non resident Indians) and foreign investors to invest in Punjab” and that he had “been confident to invest in a second project because of the support he had received from Invest Punjab and the Punjab Government.
The founder of the Malhotra Group PLC told the audience how he came to the 海角视频 more than 40 years ago at the age of 18, when “the wisdom was that the opportunities outside of Indian were far better than inside India. The same certainly cannot be said today.”
US golf champion Jack Nicklaus – six time Masters champion through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s - is behind the golf course design company Nicklaus Design set to work on the scheme, having already created more than 425 courses in over 45 countries.
Along with the two developments, Mr Malhotra intends to extend his mentoring support for SMEs, start-ups and little angels in the 海角视频 to India.
He said: “I have always been a patriotic Indian and a proud Punjabi and my home town of Ludhiana remains very close to my heart.
“I am delighted to have been able to be part of such an important summit and to share the platform with policy makers, the Chief Minister, senior bureaucrats and other companies and investors from around the world who recognise the opportunities the Punjab has to offer.”
Mr Malhotra will divide his time between India and the 海角视频, although he will remain at the helm, while the day to day running of the business will be conducted by his brother, Bunty, who heads up the care division and his son, Atul.