LEADING developer, Malhotra Group PLC, has announced is has successfully completed the purchase of The Imperial Golf Estate in Ludhiana, Punjab, India following four years of negotiations.
The development, which includes an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus company, Nicklaus Design, was halted in 2019 after the previous owners ran into financial difficulty.
The development is now firmly back on track having been acquired by Malhotra Realty Private Ltd India (MRPL), a Malhotra Family Holding Company.
The UK- based company, which has property, care home and leisure interests across the country, is headed by Chairman, Meenu Malhotra who has always wanted to create a legacy in his home town of Ludhiana, Punjab, India.
“This project will not only create opportunities for local people but also provide world class facilities, enhancing the reputation of the already affluent town of Ludhiana and placing it on the world map,” said Mr Malhotra.
Together with the championship golf course, the project will see the creation of more than 700 villas and apartments, an upscale shopping mall with national and international designer outlets and fashionable food and beverage offerings.
A destination health farm with spa facilities and a luxury five-star hotel will be created with other, yet to be announced, prestigious partners.
An international school (junior and senior) in collaboration with prominent educational institutions based in the United Kingdom is also planned, along with places of worship and a creche for residents and families.
The development is expected to draw travellers from throughout India, which will assist in creating local job opportunities and boost the economy for the state of Punjab.
MRPL is looking forward to working closely with administration officials in Ludhiana and the Punjab Government in laying the much-needed infrastructure to make this project successful.
It has already applied to have all the relevant licences and consents renewed so work can commence on site immediately, in anticipation that Phase 1 will be complete within two years.
“We have been working for the past four years on bringing this project together which was held up because of legal hurdles. We would like to thank our advisor, Anshul Jain of PwC New Dehli who assisted us through the regulatory processes,” added the CEO.
The company is in the process of recruiting an international architect, and the design and aesthetics will be led by the famous local architect Zafar Choudhry of Habitat Architects in Ludhiana.
With the new road infrastructure laid swiftly by the Government of India, Imperial Golf Estate will be serviced by four airports, including the new Ludhiana Airport, Chandigarh Airport, Amritsar Airport and New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, with plans for a helipad in the future.
With the additional promise of high speed connectivity, MRPL is confident the golf estate and all the planned facilities will draw players and visitors from across the globe as well as catering for the increased interest in golf across India.
Mr Malhotra believes that “the project will make a huge positive economic impact on the area and create thousands of jobs for local people and companies,”
“I have always been a patriotic Indian, proud Punjabi and my home town of Ludhiana remains very close to my heart,” he added.
This is the second major project to be undertaken by MRPL. Last year it announced The Wilton, a major 2,000,000 sq ft city centre project, consisting of a shopping mall, hotel, cinema complex and 600 fashionable residencies off Canal Road, Ludhiana which is already under development.
Meenu sees this latest move as part of a continuing commitment to the company’s overseas development plans.
“We are global investors with a proven track record of development in the UK. We see India as a vibrant economy which we wish to invest in,” he said.
“India is the fastest growing economy in the world. The Government of India’s intention is to become the third largest economy in the world in the next decade by investing in infrastructure and housing, as well as other sectors.
“We are proud to invest in India to be part of that growth story and will continue to invest in India to assist in making this vision a reality. We expect to announce further developments in due course.”