One of India’s biggest retail players, Reliance Industries, is moving into the shopping centre industry, building its own mall in South Delhi.

The move is aimed at optimising the power of its retail brands by playing landlord and tenant for its brands.  

A company official said Reliance will use the land Mukesh Ambani won in a Delhi Development Authority bid for around Rs400 crore (around US$80 million) back in 2007 to construct a 720,000 sqft commercial complex at Alaknanda.

It will use two-fifths of the retailing space to house brands owned by Reliance Retail (a subsidiary arm of Reliance Industries). The mall will have three basement levels along with sufficient parking space to accommodate more than 1000 cars and 700 motorcycles and six stories above ground.  

The company will spend 200 to 250 crore (US$40 million to US$45 million) for construction with completion scheduled for the end of 2014.

Reliance Industries was on a buying spree some years back and procured land in about 150 cities in India with the intention of constructing shopping complexes and malls. Its real estate projects include Reliance Corporate Park in Navi Mumbai that serves to be convention center and a hospital in Mumbai.

It is presently building 4 million sqft of retail space in North India and has attained more than 20 sites in Delhi, which can be used for the construction of malls.

GB