Austin Consulting Group, not Austin University to invest $42 billion in UP’s ‘Smart City of Knowledge’

Ritu Jha-

Ashraf Al Moustafa, who spearheaded the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Uttar Pradesh government to invest $42 billion to build Austin Smart City of Knowledge in the state, told indica in an exclusive interview that Austin University has nothing to do with the India project.

The MOU, he said, was signed between Austin Consulting Group and the UP government

Both are owned by Moustafa.

On December 15, Moustafa signed an MOU with a UP delegation led by the state’s finance minister Suresh Khanna. Moustafa said that the Indian media reported the agreement was signed by Austin University. “It is the Austin Consulting Group that has signed the contract,” he said.

Moustafa said that the MoU will offer a unique project — 5000 acres of land allocated only for education, but an inclusive smart city will also be built. It will create about 12 million jobs — three million direct and nine million indirect.

“We will bring programs from western universities and put them in one university. Here you will find business school from Stanford University, Harvard Law School, Heidelberg Medical School, and more,” he added.

He said the $42 billion project will take eight years to compelte, and the first phase will be at a cost of $7 billion.

“What I am building here is not just any university, it will be the best of the best academic programs. Though this will be a virtual setup, each university will also open its branch here,” he said.

He added that in 2019 he visited India to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and at that time, enough land was not available.

When asked about the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education suspending the license to run Austin University, Moustafa said that it is because they want to expand and moving to a new bigger location.

The California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education is a unit of the California Department of Consumer Affairs charged with regulation of private postsecondary educational institutions operating in the state of California.

Matt Woodcheke from the office of public affairs, California Department of Consumer Affairs, told indica in an email: “Austin University received an approval from the Bureau to operate a non-accredited private postsecondary education institution on May 23, 2011, at which time Austin University met the criteria set forth in the California Private Postsecondary Education Act for approval.”

In October 2022, the Bureau suspended Austin University’s degree programs due to insufficient progress toward accreditation. On separate grounds, the Bureau sought to revoke Austin University’s approval to operate an institution in April 2022.

Wooodcheke added, “This matter has now been decided, and Austin University is no longer able to operate as a private postsecondary institution in California effective December 8, 2022. If Austin University is still enrolling students or providing instructions from a California location, it is doing so in violation of California law.”

Moustafa said, “My heart is in the right place. People who do not know me are attacking me. I am upset with these people,” Moustafa said on media reports about Austin
University’s contract. “The story was not written with good intentions. What is the benefit of this project in India and why India? I am not Indian, but I am saying that India is a good market and we are trying to help by giving them higher education and offering 10 percent of the admissions free.”

He added, “India has rich people too but the 10 percent admissions would be free. From the building design perspective, one million disabled people in the world have special needs and we are building from the ground up to ensure that when these kids come, they have no difficulty. This will have a facility for everyone. I want them to enjoy life like we enjoy life,” said Moustafa.

He said, “It is Austin Consulting Group’s job to bring investments to India through investment groups and financial institutions. “

Austin University was a small university, he said and it does not have $42 billion. It has been closed during Covid.”

Moustafa said that he doesn’t know exactly how much the project would cost ultimately. “We do not know yet if it will go up or the cost will come down. They have hired the best US-based architecture company whose officials are flying to India early in January to look at the sites. Then they will come up with the master design and will present the design during the UP Global Investors Summit,” he added.

The investment is in five phases and each phase will take three years. “India is not offering anything for free, we have to buy the land. And we have to pay for it in advance. Right now, we are not aware of how much the land would cost. Right now, we are saying we are interested in the project,” Moustafa said.

“Our job is to see if we can do a good job in India and give a them chance to offer the best, as we are building an entire smart city and the knowhow to bring business.”

Austin University was a non-profit university and has many founders. He said the amount due is a small thing and during Corona everyone was working from home and office was locked when the BPPE offices arrived to check.

“We are closing because we are buying a much bigger campus for university in Southern California,” Moustafa said, and added , “What was happening was someone came from the BPPE and found nobody was there because the building was shut down. But our plan was to expand after corona was over. Our office rent was high and so we decided why not buy our own.”

“It has nothing to do with the project in India,” he said, and asked, “Why did we build a non-profit if we are after money? We have to look at the bigger picture. The project is not a university, it will be called ‘Smart City of Knowledge’.”

Moustafa said, “If we feel India has a problem with the project, we will go to a different country. But I have great love for India and I have been to India a couple of times.”

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