SRINAGAR(London Post )By Syed Raza-Indian Kashmir is to get its first foreign investment, with Dubai’s Emaar Group due to build a $60 million shopping and office complex, as the government looks to stabilise a region where Muslim separatists have for years battled the government, Reuters reports.
The 5 billion rupee ($60.50 million) development will include a shopping mall and multi-purpose commercial tower in Srinagar, the capital of the Muslim-majority Himalayan region, Emaar announced at an investment summit in the city.
The announcement, on Sunday, of what the region’s government said was its first foreign investment comes after the central government said last week that Jammu and Kashmir had received record investment of 15 billion rupees ($181 million) in the first 10 months of the 2022-23 (April-March) fiscal year.
Governments have long tried to woo investors, both domestic and foreign, but with little success due to the three-decade insurgency in a region claimed by both India and Pakistan.
India says Muslim Pakistan has long supported the insurgency. Pakistan denies it.
Amit Jain of Emaar Properties told reporters the investment would have a domino effect.
“This is the beginning. We should inspire people. People should strive to follow us. This is a 1 million square meter mall with 500 stores and creating about 7,000 to 8,000 jobs.” We will,” Jain said after the groundbreaking ceremony for Srinagar Mall.
Emaar, builder of the world’s tallest tower, the Burj and his Khalifa, is Dubai’s largest listed developer. The Dubai government owns a minority stake in the developer through its Sovereign Wealth Fund.
Chief administrator Manoj Sinha said the project would boost the confidence of foreign investors and boost the local economy.
In August 2019, the government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, split the state of Jammu and Kashmir into his two federally administered regions, consolidating its grip on the region and ending his more than 70-year hostilities with Pakistan. Aimed at close integration with Pakistan at its core. Rest of Pakistan.
Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan both claim full but partial control of Kashmir, and he has fought two of her three wars over Kashmir.
The reorganization enacted was accompanied by a communication cutoff and a security crackdown, with the government sending troops to heavily militarized areas. Many of these restrictions have been eased and the Kashmir Valley, known for its snow-capped mountains and scenic lakes, will attract more than 16 million tourists in 2022.
