UDAIPUR (India) — Despite a flight diversion caused by bad weather, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is on an official visit to India, managed to visit Singapore developer CapitaLand’s The Celebration Mall in Udaipur yesterday — the city’s first shopping mall.

Welcomed by crowds of people cheering and trying to snap pictures of him, Mr Lee marked his arrival by lighting a traditional Indian lamp. He was accompanied by his wife Madam Ho Ching, Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran, Acting Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung and Capitaland president and Group CEO Lim Ming Yan.

The six-storey mall, with its decorative atriums and intricately carved domes, has become a key landmark in the city since it opened in July 2011. It houses some 200 brands, including Udaipur’s first McDonald’s, Domino’s, and Subway, and a Singapore-style food court managed by CapitaLand.

CapitaLand is Singapore’s largest shopping mall developer in India and will launch its fifth mall in the country in Mysore next year and a sixth in Cochin in 2019. Two others are under development in Jalandhar and Nagpur. The company also has three upcoming service apartment suites — developed by subsidiary The Ascott Limited — in Hyderabad, Sri City and Bangalore, which will be ready by 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Mr Lee’s visit to the mall was delayed by nearly three hours after bad weather forced his domestic flight from New Delhi to be diverted back to the capital.

Shortly after he landed at the New Delhi airport, Mr Lee posted a picture on Instagram of ground staff unrolling a red carpet to receive him.

“We had taken off from Delhi for Udaipur, and were just 10 minutes from landing when bad weather and poor visibility forced our plane to turn back, and the red carpet to be rolled out (again). Waiting at Delhi airport now, hoping the weather clears and we can find our way to Udaipur (again),” his caption read.

Earlier in the day, Mr Lee called on India President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Presidential Palace.

Today, Mr Lee will receive a call by Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, and witness the launch of the Centre of Excellence for Tourism Training, which will start classes for six courses in hospitality and tourism next year. Ms Raje will also host Mr Lee to lunch.

CapitaLand gave ideas for the draft curriculum for the training centre and will also offer internship opportunities at the mall to students.

Clarification: An earlier version of this report said CapitaLand is Singapore’s largest developer in India. CapitaLand has clarified it is Singapore's largest shopping mall developer in India.