Real estate sector: ‘Commercial projects are attracting local, foreign investment’

KARACHI: Commercial real estate projects, including shopping centres and malls, are a catalyst to attract healthy local and foreign investment, stirring the economic activities as hubs of businesses at a massive scale in a mega city.

According to Musammir Arif Siddiqui, COO TwentyOne Builders and Developers, as per the State Bank data, the construction sector received foreign direct investment of $82 million in the last two financial years. the scope of foreign investment in this sector is much higher than this investment.

As per Pakistan Economic Survey for FY21, the construction sector contributed 2.5 percent to GDP. Further, 7.71 percent of the employed Pakistani labor force is engaged in the construction sector.

The real estate and construction sector will not only attract the investment but also create a number of job opportunities in this sector as well some other 50 industries that are directly related with construction, said.

“The role of commercial real estate is tremendous in our country. Still, it is phenomenal in boosting economic activities, generating entrepreneurial activities, and hundreds of employments at wholesale and retail levels at a particular shopping center”, he added.

He mentioned that a few famous shopping centers and malls were developed in Pakistan, which have become mega business centers and hubs in different cities attracting foreign and local brands and chains of retail outlets. Some shopping malls and centers are Centaurus in Islamabad, Packages Mall and Emporium Mall in Lahore, Dolmen Mall, Ocean Mall, and LuckyOne Mall in Karachi.

He pointed out that these hubs of businesses gradually expanded the footprint of economic activities, providing a platform for a famous elite brand to street sellers within the surrounding area hence generating immeasurable opportunities for business and income earning to hundreds of people concerning their demand and investments.

Adopting this trend TwentyOne Builders and Developers are introducing the wholesale market in the country’s commercial capital, which will be the hub of supplies of significant goods and commodities all over the country, he maintained.

The Turkish style of wholesale and retail mall is being launched for the first in Pakistan “Grand Bazaar,” with a concept to amalgamate all sectors of the economy under one roof, he said and added. The new project will revolutionize the idea of wholesale business in the country, which will be replicated in different cities, Musammir added.

In developed countries, the wholesale markets are located on the outskirts of the city, which is why our project has exclusivity to provide a model to Karachi and significant cities to transform cities as similar to metropolises of developed countries. From automobiles to toy shops, clothes to groceries, every sector will be allocated a differentiated space under the customized requirement of businesses, he mentioned.

Investors and people in business will purchase plots in the Grand Bazaar in an open policy, but they can be facilitated on demand with our advanced construction and development services by us. The development of this mega project will stir long-term construction activities in the surrounding area, he further said.

There are well-known business tycoons behind the major real estate project, but a majority of them prefers to adopt a retail model in Pakistan; we are among a few investors who took a unique initiative to develop a world of wholesale business in the commercial capital of Pakistan, COO TwentyOne Builders and Developers said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023