The final hurdle has been cleared for Swedish furniture and homewares chain Ikea to open its own stores in India.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved Ikea’s application to invest US$2 billion to open 25 stores through its subsidiary Ingka Holdings Overseas BV.

“The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today gave its approval to the proposal of Ingka Holding as recommended by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB),” a government statement said.

CCEA is one of the standing committees of the cabinet instituted by the Indian government to review and approve investment proposals exceeding Rs1200 crore (US$218 million).

“This is a very positive development. Since many years already, India is an important market for the Ikea Group from a sourcing perspective,” said Ikea CEO Mikael Ohlsson.

Ikea says it will take four to five years before it can set up its first store in India.

“This is a big step in our journey to open Ikea stores in India. We feel very confident that the people of India will love to visit and to shop at Ikea,” said Ikea India CEO Juvencio Maeztu.