Educity to provide good investment opportunity for NRIs

Alungal Muhammad, CMD of Al-Abeer Medical Group, has highlighted the importance of the group’s Rs 8 billion Educity project in Kerala, saying it offers a good investment opportunity for non-resident Indians (NRIs).
Speaking to Arab News, he said the foundation for Al Abeer Educity, an integrated medical and education project, would be laid down next month or early March by a high-ranking official such as the Indian president or vice president.
“Soon after laying the foundation, we’ll start work on the medical college and the international school. We will then approach potential investors to take shares. As per the feasibility study, investors will receive a profit of not less than 15 percent in the fifth year of operation,” Muhammad said.
Educity aims to develop a new generation of highly cultured and educated professionals, the CMD said. “Designing of the project has been completed and the Malappuram Municipality has approved the plan.”
The Educity will have schools offering courses in medicine, engineering, business administration, commerce and humanities with 65 percent seats reserved for the NRI’s children. "The project will focus on the needs of the Kerala expatriate community in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries whose major concern is the education of children and a bright career for them," said Mohammed, who has spent more than 33 years as an expatriate.
He wants to introduce a new pattern of quality education right from kindergarten level to professional courses under one umbrella at an affordable fee structure.
The Educity will offer new generation courses designed by the Harvard School of Medicine, the Massachusetts Institute of Medical Science and Melbourne University in medical engineering and medicinal sciences, in addition to making available online library systems for international universities to enhance competence.
“About 65 percent of seats are reserved for children of NRIs and NRI returnees,” Muhammad said. “We would like to reserve a certain percentage of seats to socially and economically backward children conforming to government regulations,” he added.
“As a commitment to uplift economically disadvantaged but brilliant students, the management will reserve a good number of seats for them in professional courses free of charge,” the CMD said.
The campus will have a full residential facility for students with amenities like hypermarkets, playgrounds and meditation halls. It will have 50 villas for parents who want to stay with their children.
The estimated cost of construction will reach Rs 5.5 billion. The approximate capital required for the period up to breakeven is Rs 1.5 billion and the current market value of land is valued at Rs 1 billion. This brings the total project value at Rs 8 billion.
Fifty percent of the project will be financed and owned by the promoter, while the rest is offered to prospective investors. “We give priority to investment from NRIs,” the CMD said. The minimum value of a share will be Rs 10 million, while those investing Rs 50 million will get directorship.
Al-Abeer had gotten an opportunity to promote the project during the recently concluded Indian Festival in Jeddah being its main sponsor. “We have allocated a good share of this year’s advertising money for the festival, which aims at mobilizing funds for the release of Indians in Saudi jails,” he said. The festival was instrumental in promoting Indian culture and strengthening unity and solidarity among the Indian expatriates community, he added.
Launched in 1999, Al-Abeer now has 13 branches across the Kingdom, in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah and Dammam.