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Emaar Properties, the leading real estate developers from Dubai, on Thursday launched the work on the Rs 3-billion project for creating business-cum-leisure facilities on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
The project comprises of a business hotel and an international convention center -- adjacent to the International exhibition center (HITEX) -- and an 18-hole International Championship Golf Course at Manikonda near the Indian School of Business.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and chairman of Emaar Properties Mohammed Ali Alabbar participated in the ground-breaking ceremony, which had a touch of hitech. Naidu teed off a golf ball into a box which triggered off the unveiling of a golden plaque as well as mechanised excavation of ground on the site of the business hotel as well as the international convention centre.
Alabbar said that the launching of this prestigious project was the first step of Emaar towards realising the dream of not only doing business in Hyderabad but also contributing to the emergence of Hyderabad as a global business destination.
"This project is a result of the vision and cooperation of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed (of Dubai) and the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu," he said.
Making a presentation about the project and the Emaar company, Alabbar said the proposed business hotel would have 300 rooms and the convention centre would have a capacity of 3,000 expandable to 5,000.
The 18-hole championship golf course would have all the world-class facilities, including a 50 room boutique hotel for those who come from outside the city to play golf. The Golf Club would also have 600 housing units, including villas and apartments.
The hotel and the convention center would be ready in 15 months while the Golf Course would be ready for inauguration in an year's time, he said. "For operating the hotels, we will joins hands with the other local or international operators," he explained.
He said Emaar Properties had a very high reputation for creating world class infrastructure and real estate in Dubai and it had two world-class golf courses to its credit (in Dubai), one of which was already being used and the other would be ready for inauguration in the next six months.
"We believe in working with the environment of the place where the projects come up. The projects coming up in Hyderabad will have their own characteristics and features in accordance with the uniqueness of this place," he pointed out.
Emaar has already developed 25,000 residential units and its annual turnover touched $2billion. Emaar has just completed the construction of a 6,000 seating capacity international convention center in Dubai for the IMF meet later this year.
The hotel and convention centre project at Hyderabad would be implemented through a joint venture company having an equity participation of Emaar Properties PJSC, Dubai and AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation in the ratio of 51:49.
The Golf Course, which would also have commercial development, would be implemented through another joint venture company in which the Emaar and APIIC would have equity participation in the ratio of 74:26, he added.
Chandrababu Naidu said that this project would be an excellent business proposition for Emaar and with the ever-increasing number of visitors to the city, Emaar would have to increase the capacity of its hotel from 300 to 750 and thereafter to 1,000.
"The Formula One car racing people were also in Hyderabad recently and they are going to come to the city soon. We will require 3,000 hotel rooms," Naidu explained.
Apart form making Hyderabad the capital for IT, financial services, biotechnology and health, the government was keen to develop it into the hub for hosting conventions and exhibitions and there would be a huge demand for these facilities in the days to come, he noted.
The chief minister said Hyderabad would have the first greenfield international airport in the country, which would be linked to the Hitec City area with an express highway. "The people will be able to reach this place from the new airport in 15 minutes," he added.