Real estate major ?Uppal Group?is planning to invest around Rs 800 crore in the northern region in the next two years. The company is likely to fund the projects through debt, internal accruals, private equity players or through IPO. With three projects already under various stages of development in Chandigarh capital region, the group is also vying to set up an IT SEZ in Himachal Pradesh.

“We are just waiting for the approval from Himachal government to start work on our SEZ,” Atul Mehrotra, director, Uppal group told FE.

He further shared that the group is developing a luxury housing project, a five star hotel and a mall in Chandigarh. “We have tied up with JW Marriott for developing a five star hotel. The construction work has already begun and it will be ready within two years. The hotel is likely to catalyse an investment of over Rs 300 crore. We will also be setting up five-star hotels in Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Goa and Chennai.”

After concentrating on Gurgaon, Uppal group is now exploring the retail space in other cities of Haryana as well. The company recently launched its mall?Centra Mall?in Jagadhari, district Yamunanagar. The proposed mall will be spread over an area of about 3 lakh sq ft and will be developed at a cost of Rs 100 crore. Of the total space, 37,611 thousand sq ft will be used to house three-screen multiplex and 93,466 thousand sq ft will be allotted to the anchor tenant.

Mehrotra further said, “The mall will have provision of basement parking for more than 400 cars and 100% power back up. Through this venture we aim to offer the industrial town of Jagadhari and Yamunanagar a mall of its own. At present we have a very good assortment of retailers like Nike, Addidas, Levis, Archies and many more are expected to follow with the launch of the mall.”

On the other hand, Uppal’s Centra mall in Chandigarh is nearing completion. The group plans to hand it over for fit outs next month. The investment in this project is pegged at around Rs 125 crore. The ntertainment arena of the mall will have a hi-tech four-screen multiplex with a capacity to accommodate more than 1,000 cine-goers. In collaboration with PVR group, the multiplex will employ the latest projection technology to enhance user experience.

Uppal’s Marble Arch, the housing project of the group, is expected to be ready by mid-next year.