THIRUVANANTHAPURAM — The ‘Mall of Travancore’ the largest shopping mall of the capital city is all set to open its door to the people of Trivandrum, adding colors to their life. This state-of-the-art mall is designed to give a world-class shopping experience and is positioned as a preferred shopping destination. On March 23, Kerala Chief Minister Sri. Pinarayi Vijayan will dedicate the Mall of Travancore to the public.

The genesis of setting up a mall under Malabar Group was born in the year 2005. For this, Malabar Group representatives had visited over 1,000 malls in India and abroad to learn and get a hands-on experience about the functioning of malls. With this regards, a detailed marketing study was conducted in Kerala. Based on these studies, it was decided to set up a Mall in Trivandrum District. In 2006, Malabar Group had started the process of acquiring seven acres of land in Enjakkal near Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. The land acquisition was completed by buying plots measuring from four cents to 2 acres from 27 different landlords. The management had decided to go green and to have a complete eco-friendly and nature friendly construction. The height of the mall was limited to three floors since the property is adjacent to Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. On Nov. 27, 2014 the then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy laid the foundation stone of the mall.

It was after studying the peculiarities of Thiruvananthapuram, the management had decided to set the mall there. Thiruvananthapuram not only enjoys the specialty of being the capital city of the state and the headquarters of the government, but is known for its century old cultural heritage, and economic prosperity. It has also shown the way for development to other parts of the state. Being the capital city, it is home for numerous Central and State PSUs and establishments including ISRO, private firms, and several techno parks. The total population of the city is 12 lakhs. Every day, around four lakh people commute to and from the city for various purposes. The city population consist of highly educated, secular, cultured, and economically well-to-do people. In tourism, the district has a leading position. A lot of foreign tourists visit the internationally renowned Kovalam beach every year.

Seventy-four aircrafts operates everyday from the modern International airport of Thiruvananthapuram. Around 8,000 people transit through the airport daily. Around 70 trains originate or pass through the Thiruvananthapuram railway station every day and almost 100,000 people depend on it. Around 100,000 people commute everyday through the bus station operating more than 1,000 buses daily. This shows the dynamic nature of the place. Trade is also very vibrant here. Business worth around Rs 40 crore is transacted here every day. Purchasing power of the people is also high here. These are the positive factors that insisted Malabar Group to set up the mall here. Compared to other districts, Thiruvananthapuram did not have a convenient umbrella shopping center. Mall of Travancore will solve this problem.

Spread over 6.5 lakh sq ft in three floors, there are large collection of world class branded items to offer. Along with shopping, there are facilities for entertainment within the Mall, both for kids and grownups. A hypermarket offering products that fits the requirements of all kinds of people who can select products as per their choice, a vast jewelry showroom to satisfy ornament lovers, electronics & home appliances showroom, lifestyle products, gaming zone, food plaza, seven multiplex theaters from Carnival Group and other entertainment facilities makes the mall a true shopping destination. Around 300 brands including international brands like Adidas, Allen Solly, Apple, Arrow, Baskin Robbins, Bata, Delsey, Jockey, KFC, Life Style, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Pantaloons, Park Avenue, Louis Philippe, Titan, Van Heusen, VIP, Woodland will be available in more than 160 showrooms within the mall. Besides, the mall will also have showrooms of prominent retailers like Eham Digital and Kalyan Silks.

Parking facility for around 1,000 cars and 1,200 two-wheelers at the same time is also available. Mall of Travancore is the result of meticulous planning and efforts of thousands of people including the management team. There are huge employment opportunity offered in Mall of Travancore. Currently, the mall will give direct employment for 2,000 people and indirect employment for 1,000 people.

Besides people from Kerala, people hailing from the nearby districts of Tamil Nadu such as Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, and Kanyakumari can easily reach and shop from Mall of Travancore. Malabar Developers, the real estate wing of Malabar Group of Companies is behind the world class structure and has completed its work in the given time.

Malabar Developers is one of the fastest growing real estate ventures in the country and is the part of the diversified Malabar Group with its flagship Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the fifth largest jewelry retailer in the world. The realty firm has so far developed 30 lakh sq. ft of commercial and residential space in the country. The Realtor develops both ultramodern villas along with affordable homes.

Malabar Developers stands out among the overcrowded real estate business vertical with its unique architecture and design of buildings that melts seamlessly in to the terrains and geographies. Malabar Developers prestigious projects include Bamboo Park, Grand OAK. Silver Linden, Royal Mangrove, Royal Pine, Montana Estates in Kozhikode, Grand Maple in Kottayam, Grand Cypress in Kochi, Malabar Hills in Perinthalmanna, Orchid Park and Grand Cedar in Thiruvananthapuram. The company is in the final lap of completing Cloudberry villaments, Royal Mulberry and Royal Garden in Kozhikode. Montana Estate , spread over more than 100 acres of land is also been developed in to a mini township consisting signature bungalows, Villaments Spa Resorts, Organic Farming, Club house and Fitness Center, near the Group’s headquarters at Kozhikode. Marina Convention center the Tourist and wedding destination in North Kerala constructed on the banks of Chaliyar River has becomes largely accepted project and has witnessed many weddings and events in the short span since its launch.

In Thrissur, the company is planning a thematic IT Township, based on the concept of a town within the town. It is also planning a township projects in Mangalore. The company has pipe lined projects in the nearby states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Telangana.

Malabar Group has earmarked 5% of its profits for humanitarian purposes under its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives which focus on women empowerment, health and education for down trodden, especially for girl child and affordable housing for poor. — SG