Yusuffali to go ahead with Kochi convention centre

“After receiving support from various political parties in the state and being the goodwill ambassador for investment in Kerala, I have decided to go ahead with the project”

By Ashraf Padanna/Thiruvananthapuram

Prominent Gulf-based Indian businessman Yusuffali M A has decided to go ahead with the prestigious international convention centre in the Kerala port city of Kochi.

Last month, the owner of the Emke Group had announced that he would withdraw from the project after allegations of land encroachment were made against him.

“After receiving support from various political parties in the state and being the goodwill ambassador for investment in Kerala, I have decided to go ahead with the project. The work will begin in three months’ time as two more sanctions are to be procured from the state government,” Ali said at a press conference here.

He had earlier asked the Cochin Port Trust to return his money and take back the land allotted for the project after local leaders of the opposition Communist Party of  India (Marxist) said the deal was unfair.

Following this, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, CPM leader V S Achuthanandan and party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan urged Ali him to reconsider his decision.

“Since all political leaders here wanted me to stay, it’s a matter of conscience for me to go ahead with it. This would be a world class centre equipped to hold events like the Saarc summit and would immensely contribute to the local economy,” he said.

Ali also unveiled a miniature model of the convention centre.

The Cochin port authorities had earlier clarified that there was nothing illegal in allotting the land to the group, which also owns India’s largest shopping mall in the city under Ali’s LuLu brand, to build the convention centre and a hotel with the Grand Hyatt chain.

“You will see high security suites and villas capable of accommodating five heads of state at a time and serviced apartments as an extension to it,” Ali said. “I’m not here to make money or anything. This is my dream project which will generate a large number of jobs and a lot of revenue for my state.”

Ali has announced investments worth Rs30bn in Kerala, including two more shopping malls, one in Kozhikode and another in Thiruvananthapuram, and south India’s biggest warehouse for perishables which is expected to help farmers in a big way.

He said the controversy was unnecessary as everything had been done transparently on the basis of a “strong, constructive agreement.”

“This is not a real estate project and I am not into real estate business... If some people have doubts, they could approach the court as the lease assignment is subject to the laws of the land,” Ali said.