IKEA, world’s largest furniture retailer, has purchased a 13 acre land close to the IT hub in Hyderabad’s HITEC city.

This first land purchase is part of their larger objective of expansion by setting up 25 stores in India at an investment of Rs 10,500 crore (US$ 1.65 billion) over the next decade, the approval for which was given by Government of India in May 2013.

According to sources in the State industry department, the Telangana Government had offered the Swedish major land at ₹19 crore per acre along with several incentives and support, the Hindu told.

The Chief Minister of Telangana State, K Chandrasekhara Rao, said: “We believe that IKEA will bring best business practices, great employment opportunities and contribute to the overall development of the city. It’s a priority for the state government to attract global brands which can bring modern processes, global know-how and innovation.”

Juvencio Maeztu, Chief Executive Officer, IKEA India, said: “India is a very promising market for IKEA as it offers us the opportunity to source, retail, conduct CSR initiatives through IKEA Foundation and empower social entrepreneurs through Next Generation projects.

“Our focus now is to bring all of it together in Hyderabad as we have bought our first land to build an IKEA store.

The company is evaluating suitable cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR for the same.

IKEA is also planning to double its volume in India by FY 2020 and had organised three ‘Make More in India’ campaigns, including one in Telangana, to look for new suppliers.