News: Lalu eyes Biyani for retail plan
(TNN 11/08/2006) New Delhi - Now this may beef up the Indian Railway turnaround story. Railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav is keen on roping in retail king Kishore Biyani to develop Railways properties into retail destinations in prime locations.
Retail major Pantaloon is learnt to have been in parleys with the railway ministry to form a joint venture to develop Railways properties initially in four metros. Depending on the success, the JV may be extended in 40 other locations, sources in Rail Bhawan said. It is understood that the two parties would be signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard by the end of this year.
“The ministry is keen on public private partnerships (PPPs) for various business activities. One of the most significant talks in his regard has been with Pantaloon,” a senior official in the railways ministry confirmed the move. When contacted, Pantaloon Retail India managing director Kishore Biyani said, “We are open to various PPP models. The talks with the railways are in initial stage and there is no concrete development as yet.”
According to industry sources, if the JV clicks, it will have the railways cash registers ringing and for Pantaloon, it would be another ground to test their success story. At present, Pantaloon already has an arrangement with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and runs retail outlets at some metro stations. According to sources, the two parties are negotiating the nature and modalities of the partnership.
In case the proposed deal takes off, Railways will primarily be the partner for land. Pantaloon will be creating various retail formats, mostly hyper markets. Apart from the existing ones, the company is also learnt to be evaluating some new retail formats. Well placed sources in the Railway ministry said that initially the retail major will be given land at four cities, which will subsequently be extended to 35-40 different locations.
The deal with Pantaloon will obviously add more feathers to the Railways' turn around story. In fact, recently IRCTC got into a similar PPP model with real estate and hospitality company Uppal's group for building a chain of budget hotels on Railway land.
Retail major Pantaloon is learnt to have been in parleys with the railway ministry to form a joint venture to develop Railways properties initially in four metros. Depending on the success, the JV may be extended in 40 other locations, sources in Rail Bhawan said. It is understood that the two parties would be signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard by the end of this year.
“The ministry is keen on public private partnerships (PPPs) for various business activities. One of the most significant talks in his regard has been with Pantaloon,” a senior official in the railways ministry confirmed the move. When contacted, Pantaloon Retail India managing director Kishore Biyani said, “We are open to various PPP models. The talks with the railways are in initial stage and there is no concrete development as yet.”
According to industry sources, if the JV clicks, it will have the railways cash registers ringing and for Pantaloon, it would be another ground to test their success story. At present, Pantaloon already has an arrangement with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and runs retail outlets at some metro stations. According to sources, the two parties are negotiating the nature and modalities of the partnership.
In case the proposed deal takes off, Railways will primarily be the partner for land. Pantaloon will be creating various retail formats, mostly hyper markets. Apart from the existing ones, the company is also learnt to be evaluating some new retail formats. Well placed sources in the Railway ministry said that initially the retail major will be given land at four cities, which will subsequently be extended to 35-40 different locations.
The deal with Pantaloon will obviously add more feathers to the Railways' turn around story. In fact, recently IRCTC got into a similar PPP model with real estate and hospitality company Uppal's group for building a chain of budget hotels on Railway land.
posted by InCar Group Press Room at 19:48
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