300 Spencer's outlets in the country this fiscal

Kolkata, July 27(UNI) Continuing its major expansion of the retail business, CESC Ltd today said it will open a total of 300 Spencer's shops across the country this fiscal with a total investment of Rs 1,200 crore.

''We are going to open more than 300 Spencer's retail outlets in this financial year. Of them more than 120 have already come up,'' CESC Vice-Chairman Sanjeev Goenka told reporters after the company's annual general meeting.

At present there are about 200 Spencer's shops in 33 cities in the country.

In reply to a question, Mr Goenka said the funds for the retail expansion would be raised equally from debt and equity. However, the company was yet to finalise the exact mode of fund raising.

With the rapidly expanding retail business churning out more revenues for the company's coffers, Mr Goenka said it would take another 12 to 15 months to reach the break-even point.

In reply to another question, the CESC Vice-Chairman said work for the ambitious project for a four lakh-square foot mall at the city's Park Circus area was expected to begin in October this year.

''We have engaged the Dubai-based Squarefoot and RTKL of the UK as the architect firms for execution of the project. It will be the biggest mall not only in Kolkata, but also in the country ,'' he said.

With a six-screen PVR multiplex and retail shops of various brands, the mall is expected to be functional by March, 2009.

Speaking on the company's Rs 8,000 crore power project at Haldia in West Bengal, Mr Goenka said while land acquisition was already complete, the company was awaiting government clearance for acquiring coal block in Jharkhand.

The 6,00 MW power project would be split into three phases with an initial investment of Rs 2,000 crore.

CESC was also moving ahead with the two other proposed power projects at Dumka in Jharkhand and Dhenkanal in Orissa with a total investment of Rs 8,000 crore.

While a 1,000 MW power project would be set up at Dumka the one to come up at Dhenkanal would be executed in two phases with an installed capacity of 500 MW each.

UNI