New Delhi, Jun 4 (PTI) Investment giant Balckstone-owned Nexus Malls on Thursday announced to have joined hands with certification organisation Bureau Veritas, as part of efforts to assure shoppers of safe and hygienic environment inside malls.

As part of the collaboration, Bureau Veritas would certify the level of hygiene and sanitisation across all nine malls currently under the Nexus Malls portfolio under its 'Safety First' initiative, said a joint statement.

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According to Nexus Malls, it becomes the first to ensure a third-party certification from a Global testing, inspection and certification body in India.

"All the malls across the Nexus Malls portfolio would be the first mall in the country to partner with Bureau Veritas to roll out the Safety-First program, providing reassurance of quality and a safe shopping experience to consumers,” it said.

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Commenting on the development, Nexus Malls CEO Dalip Sehgal said: "Our association with Bureau Veritas is for reassurance from an international organisation who has decades of experience in certifying the health and hygiene norms across the globe.”

Bureau Veritas Sr Vice President (South Asia Region) Amit Ghosh said: "We are delighted to partner with Nexus Malls in their “Safety First” initiative.  At Bureau Veritas, we aim to work with our customers to assist them in their objective to ensure a safe workplace.”

Nexus Malls is the Indian retail portfolio arm of investment firm Blackstone Group.

Under the ‘Safety First' program, it will ensure implementation of the SoP released by the Shopping Centres Association of India, when the malls reopens post-CoVID-19.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)