Richa Industries Bags Order to Construct Pre-engineered Buildings for Railways

Richa Industries Limited, a leading Construction & Engineering company, has secured an order from IRCON International Limited, a government company incorporated by the Ministry of Railways, for the construction of five Pre Engineered Buildings (PEB) at Rourkela, Orissa for Indian Railways.

A Pre-Engineered Building (for illustrative purpose)

Valued at  Rs 23 crore, the project is a turnkey  type and the scope of work includes design and construction of five buildings including Lifting Bay, Inspection Bay, Machine Shop, Wheel Lathe and Oil godown with the total area of 16,000 sq mt. The project is expected to be completed in nine months from now.

Commenting on the order from Indian Railways,  Dr. Sandeep Gupta, Joint Managing Director, Richa Industries Limited says, "We are delighted to receive the order from IRCON. This is a testimony to the quality work showcased by the company in previous projects. We are confident to get more such opportunities in the time to come."

Railway Budget Should Encourage More Transit-oriented Development

Anuj Puri

With the rail budget coming up, the sheer number of land parcels held by Indian Railways across the country makes this entity an important stakeholder in Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). 

Given that Indian cities will see more migration from the rural areas, urban infrastructure will become a key focus area for the government. In last year’s railway budget, it was announced that monetisation of assets instead of selling them will be the new approach.

Mumbai has always been challenged by its need to transport millions from the suburbs to South Mumbai’s business districts, thanks to its geography and linear, northward expansion. Three suburban railway lines and two express highways operate in full capacity during peak hour. Traffic congestion highlights the need for augmentation and modernisation of existing transit routes.

The case is similar in other metros. Bangalore sees a lot of traffic congestion during the peak hours. Delhi-NCR stands out for its pollution levels constantly hovering around dangerous levels, even though it has better metro connectivity than most other large Indian cities. There is definitely a lot of scope for TOD in all these cities. Tier II cities are not far behind, and could end up congested like the Tier I cities in a few years, given the rapid pace of their expansion.

What is TOD?

TOD is a mixed-use residential and commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit-ridership. A TOD neighbourhood typically has a centre with a transit (train/ metro) station or stop and residential as well as commercial development around it. TOD interventions aim to significantly shift the mode share away from private motorized vehicles to public transport.

Many cities around the world, such as San Francisco, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Paris, etc., have developed and continue to write policies and strategic plans aimed at reducing automobile dependency and increasing the use of public transit. TOD as a planning tool is new to Indian cities, and quality mass rapid transit systems are also relatively recent here.

Transit-oriented Development In India

Delhi was the first Indian city to move towards a TOD concept. TOD is also a priority area for Mumbai, and was mentioned in its new development plan (DP) 2034 (currently in a draft format and undergoing several revisions). Vashi, CBD Belapur were the first TOD projects in Navi Mumbai, with Seawoods following suit in recent years. Haryana has recently introduced TOD, which will benefit cities like Gurgaon. While some progress has been made, it is still too little and comes almost too late.

Source: JLL Research

The chart above talks about dependency of a city’s population on its public transport. It clearly shows that Mumbai and Delhi are high on public transport dependency when compared to a few other cities. This presents a strong case to further improve the existing infrastructure in order to sustain this public attitude. That will not happen if the road network continues to be built and improved without the rail network keeping pace.

Worth Noting: China has outstripped India (the world’s fourth largest rail network), following an intensive expansion and modernisation of its network over the past two decades. It now has more than six times as much track as India. This budget, we expect the railway minister to look at monetising railways’ land parcels in urban areas through TOD – in order to boost cities’ liveability quotient and modernisation of their skylines. Given the progress of work on infrastructure projects in India, TOD plans should be rolled out across cities soon so that the infrastructure is in place by 2020-25.

Contributed by: Anuj Puri, Chairman & Country Head, JLL India

Sheth Creators Launches Beaumonte, a Mega Residential Development at Sion, Mumbai

Sheth Creators, a leading real estate company catering to the luxury and ultra-luxury segment, has launched Beaumonte, a new age iconic residential development based in the heart of central suburbs, Sion in Mumbai.

The project is a premium residential project consisting of 45 residential floors. The structural and landscape architecture of the project is maneuvered by P&T and EcoPlan Asia from Singapore, respectively.

Beaumonte offers housing choices comprising of 2, 3 BHK residences and is spread across 2.6 acres. Beaumonte is a tapestry of experiences pulsating with vibrant life and activity. The landscaping interspersed with a plethora of amenities includes, meditation/yoga room, montane bar, evening lounge, open-air library and dining, kid’s play area and barbeque space. This project currently instills one tower endowing state of art entertainment and fitness center, a company release said.

Beaumonte is strategically located and brings in great advantage to the potential residents who are looking for nirvana living. The key highlights of the project are the superfluity of amenities designed to exuberate and help amass the feel of complete and refined living.

According to Hiral Sheth, Director Marketing, Sheth Creators, “At Sheth Creators it has always been our consistent endeavor to bestow better living to our consumers by offering world class services. Sion is centrally located and is currently preferred destination that houses social and recreational infrastructure. Beaumonte provides a panoramic view and is designed by one of the finest design consultant P&T and EcoPlan Asia from Singapore. The construction is in full swing.”

Beaumonte at Sion is associated with essential junctions via roads and metro outlines. The project situated in prime locale, is one of the most prominent places of central Mumbai. The location is equidistant to the infrastructural developments like the Eastern Express Highway, Navi Mumbai, Santacruz-Chembur Link Road, Eastern Freeway and BKC. Cities finest hotels, malls, premium entertainment hubs and business centres are just a drive away from Beaumonte.

Beaumonte offers hassle-free connectivity to any part of the city, be it domestic and International airports, on one end and connecting to Navi Mumbai, Bombay Pune Express way on the other. The location has connectivity to all sought after destinations like Bandra, Nariman Point, Worli, Ghatkopar, Andheri, Thane, among others and business districts of CBD’s & SBD’s. The project boasts of booming social infrastructure with eminent schools, colleges, designer jewellery showrooms, in the vicinity and recreational centers at every nook and corner.

Everything at Beaumonte is designed in opulence and grandeur. All, nestled within the buzzing hub of Sion, tinged delightfully with one stop shop amenities, the project caters to the innate needs of the buyers.

Tata Housing Gets Platinum Rating for Prive Project in Lonavala

Tata Housing, one of the fastest growing real estate companies in India, has received platinum certification from Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) for its ultra-luxury housing project Prive at Lonavala.

The evaluation process of the certification was based on parameters such as site selection and planning, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials, internal environment quality and innovation and design process, a Tata Housing communiqué said.

Prive by Tata Housing is designed (by SCDA Architect) based on the theme of open architecture where the outside landscape interacts with the indoor space. The project is architecturally distinct from its surroundings, incorporating various water and energy saving measures using several innovative and sustainable green materials. 

Offered in four variants - Emperia, Palacia, Reserva, Santura and Dominia, the project is designed in such a way that every structure and unit allows generous daylight and natural ventilation. This will encourage home owners to save electricity by manually adjusting home settings to reduce energy use. With sustainability and environment friendliness at the epicentre, the project boasts of ample green and landscaped areas that are planned with native and adaptive vegetation to minimize water requirements.

Commenting on the achievement, Brotin Banerjee, MD and CEO, Tata Housing said, "Tata Housing has pioneered the concept of sustainable design since inception and follows an integrated and synergistic approach in order to deliver sustainable, smart and energy efficient projects. We at Tata Housing, follow the principles of green development predominantly keeping in mind customer satisfaction; as well-designed efficient buildings produce better indoor air quality and an overall healthier environment resulting in higher productivity and retention. Building energy efficient homes also helps lower operating cost in future as the buildings are easier to maintain."

In addition to water and energy conservation at Prive, the company is striving to preserve a century-old well that adds a rustic appeal to the otherwise contemporary design. Treated water shall be used for landscaping, and all apartments are fitted with low flow but efficient water fixtures. Rainfall over the whole area of the complex will be harvested and recharge 23 pits. 

India Construction Chemical Market to Grow at 15% CAGR: TechSci Research

Chennai: The Indian construction chemical market is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 15 per cent during 2015-2020, due to increasing construction activities and rising government and private investments in infrastructure and real estate sectors, says a study.

According to TechSci Research report, “Construction Chemicals Market in India By Type, By Application & Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2010 – 2020”,  the 100 per cent FDI in construction sector and the government’s ambitious projection of infrastructure investment amounting to USD one trillion by 2017 are expected to boost the construction chemical market during the next five years.

“Growing adoption of the green building concept and various proposed smart city projects is anticipated to fuel demand for construction chemicals market in India during 2015 - 2020. In August 2015, Government of India released a list of 98 smart city projects, which is expected to generate strong growth opportunities in India construction chemicals market in the coming years. The trend in India’s construction industry is gradually changing, with the interest of public and private investors gradually shifting towards high quality construction. Rising adoption of advanced construction technologies, raw materials and chemicals is anticipated to drive the country’s construction chemicals market during 2015 - 2020.”, said Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm.

Changing consumer lifestyles, especially of the country’s robustly expanding middle class population, is driving demand for quality construction of residential structures, thereby augmenting demand for construction chemicals in India, the report said.

The real estate sector is accounted for the largest share in India construction chemicals market in 2014, on account of rising disposable income, increasing number of nuclear families and rising investments in both residential and corporate structures. This sector is expected to maintain its dominance in India construction chemicals market in the coming years, due to implementation of government policies such as 100% FDI in real estate business and ‘Housing for All by 2020’, the report further added.

Salarpuria Group Pre-launches ALTANA - Premium Homes in Bengaluru

BANGALORE:  Salarpuria Sattva, a leading developer in South India, has pre-launched ‘ALTANA’, the first premium gated community at Vijaynagar Extension, Off Magadi Road in Bengaluru.

Located opposite to Sumanahalli Flyover, the Group proposes to develop 1.6 million sq.ft of residential property having around 1400 homes in 12 acres of land.

Offering premium homes for people living in and around West Bangalore, the denominations would be 1, 2 and 3 BHK options. The developer has a reputation of providing high quality constructions, due diligence, on-time delivery and excellent customer relations.

Amenities at Altana include verdant landscaping, high-end outdoor and indoor amenities along with a state-of-the-art clubhouse measuring 30,000 sq.ft.

According to Bijay Agarwal, MD, Salarpuria Sattva Group, "Altana is an ideal property for people seeking to make their lives easy and comfortable. This location of Bangalore has a mix of white collar executives as well as established middle class business families, mostly living in independent spaces. 

ALTANA offers safety, comfort and more facilities that will make their life easier. The best part about this location is the fabulous connectivity, especially through the new infrastructure, Metro, nice road and outer ring road within 3-5 kms radius, which makes it ideal place for people to work or reach anywhere in Bangalore, quickly and easily."

With this project slated for launch by February 19, the Salarpuria Sattva Group has launched 4500 homes in the financial year 2015-16. Founded in 1986, the Salarpuriahas a formidable name in Bangalore, apart from its growing presence in Kolkata, Pune, Jaipur, Vizag, Hyderabad and Chennai.

The Group has plans to venture into more cities in the near future. With 16 million sq.ft spaces completed, 17 million sq.ft under construction and 30 million more in stages of development and planning, the Group has been given ‘A Stable’ rating by CRISIL, a leading global analytical company providing ratings, research and risk & policy advisory services.

The brand has been awarded with prestigious awards like NDTV Property Award, ET, and CNBC-AWAZ-CRISIL-CREDAI Real Estate Awards.

Brigade Group Launches Brigade Atmosphere at Devanahalli in Bangalore

Brigade Group, one of India's leading real estate developers, has announced launch of Brigade Atmosphere, a signature villa project at Devanahalli, Bangalore, a high growth corridor in North Bangalore.

 

Brigade Atmosphere offers four bedroom signature villas with sizes ranging from 3010 sq.ft to 3410 sq.ft. The project aims to bring back the concept of courtyard homes, a way of life long forgotten. 

This unique project will have 109 courtyard villas spread across 18 acres of picturesque landscape.

A cluster of eight villas will be surrounding a beautiful courtyard and a series of such clusters will be connected to a central Boulevard. The unique cluster layout ensures optimal utilization of space for recreation while creating a sense of intimacy and harmony.

Brigade Atmosphere offers an ideal lifestyle with the right mix of private, semi-private, semi-public and public spaces.

The project offers a world of amenities like a convenience store, multi-purpose hall, health club, swimming pool, library, amphitheatre, gymnasium, children's play area, billiards, table tennis and basketball courts.

According to Om Ahuja, CEO-Residential, Brigade, "Brigade Atmosphere is truly a unique villa project in North Bangalore. We, at Brigade, have brought back the concept of courtyard homes that faded into oblivion due to urbanization. Each cluster of villas along with the social amenities will act as a keystone of community living." 

What Has Led To Pune's Affordable Housing Crunch?

Kishor Pate

No discussion about the hottest real estate markets in India today is complete without a generous reference to Pune. In fact, Pune is one of the most-talked-about and desirable places in India to live and work in today. 

People are attracted to this city because of its vibrant job market, the much more clement climate and environment when compared to the neighbouring financial capital Mumbai, and - very importantly - the superior quality and spread of options in housing.

However, there are some important factors that property buyers who are not familiar with Pune should be aware of so that they can make the right choice while buying their homes here. Pune is doubtlessly a marvellous place to live in, but this has over the recent years actually become a problem.

The areas closest to Pune's business district and Information Technology hubs have gained attention for being the most desirable places to buy or rent a home in. However, as the popularity of these areas increased, so did the cost of living. Because these areas are seen as high profile and naturally attract people from the higher income brackets, most of the housing supply there is now in the premium segment. The property rates of such housing also drive those of non-premium housing upward.

It is not only real estate prices which are affected in these locations, but the overall cost of living. The high property prices in these areas mean that shopping outlets, entertainment centers, restaurants and healthcare facilities all have to pay much higher rents. The higher costs are directly passed on to the customers in these catchments. Moreover, because of the overall premium ethos of these locations, they tend to attract retail, hospitals and F&B outlets which cater primarily to high-income customers.   

True, Pune is one of the most vibrant cities because of its high lifestyle quotient, spunky neighbourhoods and Information Technology hubs. Unfortunately, the very residents who made the city this upscale, happening place where everyone wants to live and work are now challenged by the increased property prices and cost of living. In Pune, affordable housing options are becoming fewer and far between.

As a result of the rapidly increasing capital values, housing rents in the most popular areas have also been rising inexorably, and this trend shows no signs of stopping any time soon. Right-priced housing is decreasing because of the swanky new apartment buildings in the more happening locations. Pune's inner locations and those closest to its IT hubs now have no affordable housing left for people to buy, even as the influx of new renters in these limited areas drives up demand and prices for a limited amount of units available for rent.

The only solutions would appear to lie in Pune's far-flung outskirts, where land is still cheap and developers can keep their prices low. However, these areas are also very far from most of the city's workplace hubs, and also lack the kind of support infrastructure that makes decent living possible. Fortunately, Pune still has a small handful of locations which are neither too remote not too costly for budget home buyers.

Among these, Undri in the Southeast of the city and Ambegaon in the South West are two of the best-connected areas which are still receiving a decent supply of affordable housing and also rapid infrastructure deployment. Keshavnagar and Manjri in the East are also still quite affordable, though relatively less enabled in terms of infrastructure. These locations offer home buyers the benefits of rational housing prices as well as very good connectivity in terms of road network, public transport and proximity to good schools, shopping, entertainment and affordable healthcare.

Contributed by -  Kishor Pate, CMD – Amit Enterprises Housing Ltd.

How Real Estate Regulatory Bill Can Help Revive Property Sector

Anil Pharande

The Real Estate Regulatory Bill has been waiting for a long time to be passed as a law. Though several new recommendations by various bodies were incorporated into the draft Bill and approved by the cabinet, it has still not been passed as an enforceable law by the Parliament. It is now high time that this happens - for several reasons

The changes which have been made in the original draft over time are quite progressive. For instance, a real estate developer must keep a minimum balance of 50% of the funds collected for his project in an escrow account. Before the Real Estate Regulatory Bill was drafted, the concept of creating an escrow account for a real estate project in which to hold funds for a project did not exist at all. In the absence of such a regulation, builders are at liberty to siphon off funds collected for their projects and use them to purchase more land or in the construction of other projects.

The Real Estate Regulatory Bill will make it compulsory for builders to ensure that at least 50% of such funds will remain reserved solely for the development of the project for which they were collected from buyers. To ensure that this actually happens, they will have to pay these funds into an escrow account within 15 days. While this is definitely a rule which will protect the interests of property buyers to some extent, it still means that builders can use half of the funds collected from buyers for other purposes.

This gives rise to a pertinent question - why would they want to do that? Isn't it in the builder's own interest to complete a project on time? Unfortunately, many developers don't look at it that way at all. The reason why they divert funds from ongoing projects is so that they can purchase land to build land banks, which allows them to showcase more projects on their balance sheets. Doing so makes allows them to raise more capital from banks or private equity funds, and also to give an inflated image of the size of their business.

There have been several other changes to the draft Real Estate Regulatory Bill, as well - each giving a clear message that the era in which developers could do whatever they want is going to be history once it is implemented. Not least among these important changes is that developers will have to register all projects which they are constructing within 3 months once the Bill becomes a law. If they fail to do so, they will be penalized to the tune of 10% of the overall project cost, and will have to bear an additional penalty of 10% and even face a prison term for any further delay to register their project.

The Real Estate regulatory Bill will also bring an end to developers' freedom to make changes in the original plans or structural designs of their projects once they have been registered. They will only be able to make any changes if they are able to get the signed approval of at least 2/3rds of those who have invested into the project. Projects which do not have completion certificates issued as yet are now also included, meaning that an even bigger segment of buyers will benefit from protection of their interests.

The current version of the Real Estate Regulatory Bill also has another noteworthy amendment in the fact that it now includes commercial office projects. In other words, investors who have plugged their funds into commercial office properties will also be protected by the Bill. Of course, the fact is that 85% of the Indian real estate market consists of the residential sector. However, this amendment is important because it will help the sector become more transparent in every respect, and not just in some segments. Real estate brokers and agents are now also included in the latest draft of the Bill, which means that will also be liable for legal action if they engage in any practices which are not in line with the new law.

Finally, the latest draft of the Real Estate Regulatory Bill permits customers with grievances to move the consumer courts, and does not position itself as their only legal recourse.

With all these positive amendments now in place, the Real Estate regulatory Bill is indeed a powerful means to make the chronically opaque Indian real estate sector more transparent. Once it becomes a law, people will feel more confident in investing into real estate, and this will result in the revival which everyone has been waiting for. This confidence will take time to become evident, but it will definitely come – and when it does, we will see massive changes on the ground.

Contributed by: Anil Pharande, Chairman - Pharande Spaces

Affordable Housing: India’s Challenge Of Disordered Urbanization

About 377 million people from India’s total population of 1.21 billion are urban dwellers. With more than 10 million people migrating to cities and towns every year, the total urban population is expected to reach about 600 million by 2031. Furthermore, between 2015 and 2031, the pace of urbanisation is likely to increase at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.1%, which is estimated to be almost double that of China.

The problem is further compounded as there are only a few urban centres in India that promise better prospects than rest of the cities and towns – leading to much more pressure on their infrastructure and housing – and resulting in disordered urbanization. Disordered urbanisation is reflected in almost 65.5 million Indians who, according to the country’s 2011 Census, live in urban slums and sprawls.

‘Hidden’ Urbanization

In addition, according to the World Bank’s Agglomeration Index, a globally applicable alternative measure of urban concentration, the share of India’s population living in areas with urban-like features in 2010 was 55.3%. This compares to an official urban share of the population of just over 31%, suggesting the existence of considerable hidden urbanisation. This hidden urbanisation, particularly on the peripheries of major cities, is mostly not captured by official statistics, and is symptomatic of the failure to adequately address congestion constraints that arise from the pressure of urban populations on infrastructure, basic services, land, housing, and the environment.

Given this scenario, it becomes critical to fill the existing gaps in the country’s strained urban infrastructure and in particular, housing. As per Economic Survey of India, EWS (economically weaker sections) and LIG (lower income groups) together account for 95.6% percent of urban housing shortage in the country, and it would be important to address the need of this significant segment of population.

Amid the growth of urbanisation, the housing shortage in India has touched 18.78 million units. Approximately 56% of households in urban India now have four or less members, which is a marked change in Indian housing sector in the past 10 years. This trend has significantly increased the demand for housing in the urban context with the growth of smaller families.

Interestingly, it is to be noted that although India’s number of households increased by 60 million between 2001 and 2011, the number of houses went up by almost 81 million over the same period. Despite this, the latest official Economic Survey states that there is a shortage of nearly 20 million homes in India. One reason for this is that most builders are catering only to the middle income and affluent population in India and home prices have gone beyond the reach of many during past decade.

Challenges Galore

While the supply side constraints for low cost and affordable housing include lack of availability of land and finance at reasonable rates, the demand drivers include the growing middle class and growing urbanisation. Real estate developers, private players in particular, have primarily targeted luxury, high-end and upper-mid housing segment owing to the higher returns that can be gained from such projects. In addition, several structural issues, such as the high gestation period of housing projects, limited and expensive capital, spiralling land and construction costs, high fees and taxes as well as unfavourable development norms are bottlenecks restricting the desired growth in housing stock in India.

The Road Ahead

The government has acknowledged the importance of the housing issues in the country in the current five-year plan. Smart cities programme is another attempt to improve the situation in urban areas. However, the solution to affordable housing crisis would be focussed efforts on land and housing policy reforms, delegation of power to urban local bodies, fostering innovative housing finance and steps for reduction in project costs and schedule overruns.

Additionally, planned urbanisation and other initiatives of government should ensure that towns and cities are free from slums and simultaneously provide for adequate opportunities for gainful employment as also an optimum quality of life to all citizens, including the marginalised sections of society. If, and when, this happens will be important to see.

Contributed by: Manish Kumar, Managing Director - Strategic Consulting, JLL India.

Omkar Developers begins redevelopment of Majas and Mogra slums in Mumbai

 One of Mumbai's most dense and largest residential slum pockets spanning 70 acres - village Majas and Mogra (Majaswadi and Meghwadi) housing about 70,000 slum dwellers, after decades of uncertainty on redevelopment front, finally saw the dawn of redevelopment.

The Gandhinagar belt of the slum pocket, located at the Jogeshwari East belt off Western Express Highway, has witnessed the commencement of Phase 1 of redevelopment process with a Bhoomi Pujan recently in presence of the State Housing Minister Ravindra Waikar and over 3,000 residents.

Being redeveloped under the SRA scheme by city's leading slum rehabilitation firm Omkar Realtors & Developers, the Gandhinagar area has a 5,000-strong slum population spanning over 3 acres.

According to company's Managing Director Babulal Varma, Omkar has already rehabilitated over 50,000 slum residents across Mumbai city with quality housing and currently enjoys consent of more than 10,000 residents in the Jogeshwari East slum pocket.

"Our vision is to create a smart city in this vital micro market, a first for any SRA project and a life transforming initiative for the existing slum population whom we look forward to complete support," Varma added.

He further stated that Omkar has deployed the latest construction technologies for all its rehabilitation towers across Mumbai city and is confident of housing residents of Majaswadi and Meghwadi in record timelines in phases. The company had constructed one of its 23-storeyed rehab towers at its Goregaon East SRA project within a record time of six months last year.

The constituency of village Mogra and Majas, whereby Omkar has commenced redevelopment, is a conglomeration of 30 slum housing societies with a majority of Muslim and Maharashtrian communities.

One of the largest slum pockets, after Dharavi, the Majas and Mogra slums have been long considered as one of the most backward slum pockets of the city with any form of redevelopment initiative failing to take off since decades.

Presently, Omkar post its presence in this slum pocket since second half of 2015, enjoys a strong support base of the 70,000-strong community.

Considering its size and density, the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) had commenced its landmark programme of 'Door-to-Door Biometric Slum Hutment Survey' at village Mogra and Majas in December 2015. The on-going survey is a first-ever kind of an initiative towards empowering the city's slum population to establish their residence proofs and provide them the 'Right of Residence'. The survey is aimed at ensuring rehabilitation of slums, hutments in a proper and systematic manner for achieving the state government' 'Slum Free Mumbai' vision by 2022.

Omkar is currently working towards rehabilitating more than 2 lakh slum dwellers by 2020 across Mumbai city. The biggest of its SRA projects are being constructed by the country's leading construction firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and it has also deployed the most advanced engineering technologies from global markets for time-bound deliveries. 

New township to adorn Uttar Pradesh realty map

Industrial townships are developed, not only to meet the growing demands of manufacturing sectors, which add up to the economic growth, but also create huge employment opportunities in the respective region besides boosting infrastructure and new residential settlements. These townships are self-sustainable where people enjoy all the basic amenities while residing closer to their workplaces.

Uttar Pradesh, which has several such industrial corridors to its credit, is all set to witness a world-class integrated industrial township coming up in Greater Noida as part of the much-awaited Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project.

Leading infrastructure and real estate developer Shapoorji Pallonji has been entrusted to complete the township with necessary infrastructure by 2018 at a bidding cost of Rs 426 crore. Coming up on the sprawling 335 hectares of land, the integrated township will be made on the lines of walk-to-work concept prevalent in developed nations.

Two development regions - Meerut-Muzaffarnagar Industrial area and Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad Investment region have been planned in Uttar Pradesh as part of the 1483 km-long Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. The Integrated Industrial Township at Greater Noida is the first of the three early bird projects planned under DMIC. Other projects envisaged at Uttar Pradesh are Multi-modal Transport hub at Bodaki and Multi-modal Logistics hub at Dadri.

The Greater Noida Township is expected to bring in over Rs 30,000 crore of investments from the private sector besides providing over one million job opportunities.

The township, which is being set-up at Ecotech 11A, is likely to have a huge impact on the nearby areas such as Ghodi Bachheda village, Maincha village and along Eastern Peripheral Expressway in terms of infrastructure and real estate developments.

The Noida-Dadri-Ghaziabad Township, where electronics, information technology, food, auto and other small, medium and large enterprises will set up manufacturing units, is being built on the lines of self-sustainable industrial townships, according to a senior official from Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA).

The integrated industrial township is being designed with 51 per cent of land being reserved for industrial clusters, where a new concept of multi-storeyed set-up will be tried, while 11 per cent of the land will be taken up for residential purpose and 38 per cent of plots are being earmarked for institutional, commercial and green belts usage.

It may be recalled that the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had earlier initiated the township project in Greater Noida by laying the foundation stone, and emphasized his government’s keenness to develop an integrated industrial cluster on Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor which, he said, would provide the much-needed fillip to the manufacturing sector and create new jobs in the state.

Ever since he came to power, the state has seen unprecedented growth with new industries coming up at various districts boosting the state’s economy, besides generating job opportunities and triggering infrastructure and real estate growth.

The DMIC, which connects all major industrial hubs in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, aims to create world-class industrial settlements besides providing dedicated transport facilities for the fast movement of manufactured goods from Uttar Pradesh to various connecting states along the corridor up to Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai.

Government Clears Key Infrastructure Projects in UP, Haryana, Maha and Telangana

While all eyes on the expected budgetary sops for the struggling infrastructure and real estate sectors, there has been some positive news emanating from different parts of the country during the last couple of months, which can rejuvenate the construction industry as a whole from its current precarious state.

Navi Mumbai International Airport

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has recently cleared the proposal to build the much-delayed Rs 15,000-crore Navi Mumbai International airport. The government has given an in-principle go-ahead for financial bids or Request For Proposals (RPFs), which will be soon shared with the four bidders shortlisted for the project, according to official sources. The four bidders are GMR Group, GVK-led MIAL, Hiranandani Developers along with Zurich Airport and Mia Infrastructure with Tata Realty and Infrastructure.

The airport is expected to commence operations from October 2019, while the developer and operator will be required to pay an annual concession fee prior to that. The fee would range from Rs 5 crore in the first year to Rs 1,250 crore from the 40th year of operation.

The government is expected to earn Rs 17,000 crore during the sixty-year period, the net present value of which is likely to be nearly RS 2,045 crore. It is also clarified that the airport project will be awarded only for 30 years (and not 60 years), with extension periods of 10 and 20 years, while the ten-year extension period beyond the 30th year would be on the basis of the operational performance of the airport operator.

The winner of the Navi Mumbai Airport project will also get a Rs 3,000-crore interest-free loan from City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), to be repaid over a period of 10 years.

Sewri–Nhava Sheva Mumbai Trans Harbour Link gets the Centre’s nod

After being stalled for several months due to the lack of environmental clearances, the Sewri–Nhava Sheva Mumbai Trans Harbour Link received an in-principle approval from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). To receive the final clearance, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is required to prepare a fresh application for tribal rehabilitation in the forest area. The project is worth Rs 12,000 crore and the tendering process is expected to commence soon, while MMRDA is working out a formal loan agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA) for funding the project.

Deadline set for the Coastal Freeway

The Maharashtra government has set 2019 as the deadline for the completion of the Coastal Freeway from Nariman Point to Kandivali. The Central Government has released a notification amending the Coastal Regulation Zone norms, permitting the reclamation of land for the coastal road.

Telangana gets RS 41,000-cr road, highway projects

The Central Government has announced road projects worth RS 41,000 crore for Telangana; these include two express highways from Hyderabad to Bengaluru and Vijayawada. The government has also offered to provide further assistance in case a new national highway is proposed for the state.

NCRPB to assist nine transport infrastructure projects in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana

The National Capital Region Planning  Board (NCRPB) has announced support for seven transport infrastructure projects in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and  two in Haryana together costing Rs 7838 crore, which would help considerably in resolving traffic and pollution issues.  The NCRPB would extend a loan assistance of Rs 3,113 crore for these projects.

The UP projects include the construction of a 10.30-km, six-lane elevated road in Ghaziabad, expected to be completed by the end of 2016. This road would extend from UP Gate to Raj Nagar Extension, connecting NH-24 with NH-58, while also serving as a bypass on the Kosambi–Mohan Nagar–Vaishali section.

On completion, the travel time between UP Gate and Hindon bridge is likely to reduce to around 15 minutes from the current 50 minutes.

The UP projects also include the 29.70-km Noida–Greater Noida Metro Project, which is awaiting final approval from the Central Government.

Among the projects proposed in Haryana is the development of the 52.33-km Manesar–Palwal Expressway, connecting NH-8 with NH-2, which is expected to be completed in 12 months. The improvement of the 38.41-km Gurgaon–Pataudi–Rewari road on SH-26 and the development of a 5.80-km elevated road on NH-10 from Chhotu Ram Chowk to Old Bus Stand in Rohtak are the other upcoming projects in Haryana.

Maharashtra defers revision of ready reckoner tax rate to April 1

The Maharashtra government has decided to defer revising the ready reckoner rates to April 1 instead of January 1. This decision is aimed at aligning any changes in the rates with the government’s tax revenue targets for the financial year. Thus, homebuyers can avail themselves of the existing rates for three more months.

Nitesh Estates Signs up Virat Kohli as Brand Ambassador

Just five months after signing a $250 million platform partnership with Goldman Sachs, leading Bengaluru-based developer Nitesh Estates has roped in star cricketer and captain of India’s Test team, Virat Kohli as their Brand Ambassador.

A winning combination of expertise and experience has given Nitesh Estates an unrivalled position as an industry leader, and today the company stands tall as one of India’s most recognized, strong and reliable luxury brands, a press note said.

Speaking on choosing Kohli as their brand ambassador, Ashwini Kumar, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer said “Our Company is at its prime, looking forward to spectacular growth and performance on all fronts in the future. We have set benchmarks and unbeatable records in real estate and are well known for our distinguished projects that involve the best of global architectural and design skills. Our vision is to ‘win the future’ and give Nitesh Estates the leading edge in every aspect of our prestigious and innovative endeavors. Virat Kohli as our Brand Ambassador reflects our enthusiasm, passion and energy to stride ahead towards the future."

On his association with Nitesh Estates, Virat Kohli said “I am proud to be associated with Nitesh Estates. The company in many aspects reflects the values I hold in high esteem. I respect the fact that as a first generation company it has made extraordinary progress in a very short span. From a modest inception, Nitesh Estates has been able to build and scale to global standards very quickly.  I am very impressed with their quality of developments across Homes, Hotels, Office buildings and Shopping Malls. I look forward to the rewarding experience of building Nitesh Estates, together with their team, taking it to the next level.”

Nitesh Estates has many firsts to its credit.  It was one of the first developers in India to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in real estate with investors like Och Ziff, Apollo Global Capital, Citigroup Property Investors, and Goldman Sachs Inc. Nitesh Estates brought the first Ritz-Carlton to India. Similarly, Virat Kohli has been delivering his own series of firsts as well, to rave reviews from his many fans.

About Nitesh Estates

Founded by entrepreneur Nitesh Shetty in the year 2004, Nitesh Estates is a leading integrated property development company head-quartered in Bengaluru. The company provides world-class products and services and has presence across four asset classes, Homes, Hotels, Office Buildings, and Retail Spaces.

Mahagun’s Solo Property Fair receives good response

Property developers organizing solo-exhibition to showcase their current and upcoming projects is gaining momentum in Indian cities. And the latest to join the bandwagon is Mahagun, a leading developer of NCR region, who is currently hosting ‘Great Indian Property Bazaar’, a 22-day property exhibition which began on January 26. 

Being held at Mahagun Moderne Club House in Noida, the developer has claimed that the exhibition has evinced good response so far from customers which is evident from the spate of fresh bookings of their new projects.

Talking about the success of the property festival, Amit Jain, Director, Mahagun said, “We are very glad at tremendous response from the buyers. Unstinted focus on product quality and customer service continues to be the guiding factors for our organization and we always endeavor to do more. The success of this bazaar is a testimony to our hard work”. 

Directors - Amit Jain and Dhiraj Jain

Great Indian Property Bazaar, which will remain open till February 14, offers a unique opportunity to customers to cherry pick the product according to their requirements among a multitude of products conforming to different specifications and prices. It is a convenient platform and one-stop shop for home buyers to look at the complete structure of product offerings with attractive deals. With hassle-free and tailor-made payment plans on the offering, a property can now be easily owned without having to pay separately for possession fees, transfer fee or parking charges. 

In addition, customers can enjoy furnished houses with just the right elements - a modular kitchen, wardrobes, AC, free maintenance for two years and free memberships of Park Plaza & Sarovar Portico hotels owned by Mahagun Group. 

Adding on to the success of the solo-exhibition, Dhiraj Jain, Director, Mahagun said, “We, at Mahagun are committed to bringing world-class living to our customers in India at most competitive and reasonable pricing. We believe in innovation and endeavor to be trend-setters for the others to follow. We look forward to be able to host more such events in future.

Rajasthan Real Estate Expo 2016 from February 19

Jaipur:  The four-day Rajasthan Real Estate Expo 2016 will be held from February 19 at Amrodoon Ka where all small, medium and large builders will participate and showcase their projects with offers and schemes.

The Rajasthan Real Estate Expo 2016 offers a platform for those looking for flats, plots, offices, showrooms, villas and industrial plots. The Rajasthan Real Estate Expo focuses on providing all kind of homes, so that each and every strata of the society can buy their dream home.

Buyer can compare the prices and quality at a single roof. Many other service providers also participate in this show like Banks, Bathroom fitting companies, interior designers, Property website companies etc.

Wish Empire, a leading builder in Jaipur will also be showcasing their Projects along with other developers and builders in the Real Estate Expo.

Organised by CREDAI Rajasthan, the annual realty expo offers a single connecting platform to all builders in Jaipur and adjoining areas, where they can showcase their projects to the prospective buyers and investors.

Rishabh Group Ropes in Farhan Akhtar as Brand Ambassador

Rishabh Group, a leading real estate developer in Delhi-NCR, has named actor and director Farhan Akhtar as their Brand Ambassador, who will henceforth promote the Group’s upcoming projects.

According to Sanjeev Jain, CMD, Rishabh Group, “We are overwhelmed to get associated with much sought-after, proven, successful and multi-talented actor Farhan Akhtar. We, as a company, constantly believe in innovation and committed to provide something different to our customers. Farhan is a name synonym for delivering something unique with his dedication and perfection. With our association, we are sure together will deliver many architectural marvels for our valued customers.”

Echoing the same sentiments Farhan Akhtar, said, “I am very happy to be associated with Rishabh Group. For me delivering something creatively unique to my fans has always been top on priority and it requires a lot of hard work, understanding of the subject and commitment. Rishabh Group has been known not only for focusing on the quality of construction but also safety of investment and integrity of commitment by providing people with improved quality of life and living standards”. 

Rishabh Group has developed more than 20 lakh square feet of residential and commercial space in the last decade.  The company has more than 20 lakh square feet of residential and commercial space in various stages of development and 30 lakh square feet of upcoming development.

Rishabh Group has completed residential and commercial projects in Indrapuram, Vaishali, Ghaziabad & Delhi NCR.

In the coming years, the Group will be focusing on providing International Class Studio Apartment, Affordable & Premium apartments as well as Commercial projects and Hotels, a release stated.

Provident Housing Launches Phase 1 of Kenworth Integrated Lifestyle Homes in Hyderabad

Provident Housing Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Puravankara Group and one of the leading real estate developers in the premium affordable housing segment, has announced the launch of Phase 1 of Kenworth lifestyle apartments at PVNR Expressway, Rajendra Nagar in Hyderabad.

Set to change the face of premium affordable housing in Hyderabad, Kenworth is an Integrated Lifestyle District providing a holistic living experience for the evolved home buyer, with fine homes, cafes, boutique shopping and smart offices within a single large campus.

Kenworth is also a unique theme-based project with all its amenities inspired by Art and Sports. The 20 acre Integrated Lifestyle District has a plethora of child development activities and the entire ecosystem has been designed to tap the budding talent among the children of today. The project offers over 21 beginners sporting facilities ranging from athletics, boxing, archery, kabaddi, badminton, mini-hockey, mini-football, volleyball, basketball, squash, table tennis, aerobics and many more.

It also provides for a Culture Club to infuse culture and experiential learning-based amenities for children, which include a mini-music studio and tinkering rooms for the inquisitive children residing in the project. The project shall have 2 and 3 BHKs along with a limited number of Kings league 4 BHK signature units, all at an expected price range of between Rs 37 lakhs to Rs 90 lakhs.

Ashish Puravankara, Managing Director, Puravankara Projects Ltd. commented, "We are glad to offer Kenworth by Provident as an Integrated Lifestyle District that will be symbolic of 'Wholesome Living'. The introduction of the Book Building process will help customers ascertain a fair price, in a transparent manner. We envisage that this project will overwhelm buyers with its high-quality design, finishes, features and yet, be

affordable to all.”

He further stated that, “The magnificent facilities will unequivocally put the required thrust on children to hone their skills and provide a foundation for his/her dreams to turn to reality. This project will be one of the largest residential launches of recent times in Hyderabad.

Located in the high growth PVNR Airport Expressway along with an attractive initial pricing, Kenworth forms one of the most attractive real estate investment opportunities in Hyderabad.

Provident, for the very first time in Hyderabad, has introduced the innovative Book Building process, which enables prospective customers to subscribe during the pre-launch of Kenworth through an expression of interest within a price range set by the developer.

The actual opening price for Kenworth by Provident would emerge from the inherent market determined forces of demand and supply. This transparent price discovery mechanism, also called as the EOI process, has been oversubscribed by over 2.3 times in a short period, the company said in a release.

The final launch price is expected to be announced soon to buyers, who have expressed interest in buying Kenworth by Provident. This reinforces the resurgent Hyderabad residential market and more specifically, the interest from buyers for high-quality projects from reputed Grade A real estate developers, such as Provident, a Puravankara company.