Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurates largest shopping mall in Vizag

Metro India News | Visakhapatnam :

Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the largest shopping mall here on Monday.

The Union Minister emphasised the central government's commitment to unlocking the potential of commercial land and promoting investments through port-led development initiatives.

"Sonowal inaugurated the largest shopping mall in Andhra Pradesh developed on Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA) land," said an official release from the port authority.

Sonowal said the central government is also committed to leveraging port land for economic growth and urban development while attracting large-scale investments.

The mall has been developed on 16.3 acres of land allotted by VPA and will house over 320 brands over a total built-up area of 1.4 million square feet.

The mall will be open to the public from March 27, while an eight-screen multiplex with a seating capacity of 1,600 will become operational within the next two-and-a-half months.

He noted that VPA has attracted investments with agreements exceeding Rs 39,000 crore, including a Rs 29,662 crore project for the Dugarajapatnam Port and Shipbuilding Cluster.

According to him, projects worth about Rs 1,390 crore, including berth modernisation, storage facilities, truck terminals, and multi-modal connectivity, are underway, strengthening Visakhapatnam as a key logistics hub.

Meanwhile, VPA Chairperson M Angamuthu said the project reflects efforts to create an enabling ecosystem that promotes private sector participation and accelerates urban development.

"The mall project demonstrates how port land can be leveraged for economic growth, employment generation and social infrastructure," said Angamuthu.

He added that the project is expected to generate employment for around 2,500 to 3,000 people directly and up to 10,000 indirectly.

K Raheja Corp Group President Neel Raheja said the company has invested around Rs 600 crore in the project, said the release.