MUMBAI: The Trump Organization and its local real estate partners have announced a new commercial tower project in India as the US president’s family business seeks to tap demand in the world’s most populous country.

India is already home to four Trump-branded residential complexes, making it the largest market outside America for his family business, with more projects on the slate.

Indian partner Tribeca Developers announced on Wednesday that it would develop a new “Trump World Center” in the western Indian city of Pune in partnership with real estate firm Kundan Spaces. The project, expected to generate sales exceeding $289.6 million, will span more than 1.6 million square feet and feature “two iconic glass towers with over 27 floors of office space”, a statement said.

“This new development marks The Trump Organization’s first foray into commercial real estate in India and will join the extensive portfolio of Trump residential properties in the region,” it said. Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization and the US president’s second son, said in the statement that India had “embraced the Trump brand” with “remarkable enthusiasm”.

“After our successful collaboration on several iconic residential projects, we are proud to launch our first commercial development in India,” he said. The US president is not involved in managing the family company but the Trump Organization’s foreign business dealings have prompted criticism of possible conflicts of interest. Eldest son Donald Trump Junior visited India in 2018, when the Trump Organization’s local partners promised dinner with him to anyone who bought into a luxury development outside the capital New Delhi.

India’s office market saw robust growth in 2024, with leasing activity across the top seven cities seeing a nearly 23 percent year-on-year increase, according to estimates by real estate management firm JLL. — AFP