Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor will help create five new cities: Knight Frank

Pune: The first phase of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) will lead to the creation of five new cities along its various nodes and the urban centres that will benefit through the first phase are Noida, Greater Noida, Gurgaon, Manesar, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Indore and Aurangabad.

These are amongst the key findings of a comprehensive study on the DMIC released by Knight Frank India.

The report, which is the first in a series of studies undertaken by the company, will serve as a ready reckoner for all stakeholders and as well as those who wish to get an idea of the possible impact of the DMIC on the districts of Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat.

Amongst the takeaways of the report is that close to two crore jobs (direct and indirect) will be created by the seven nodes in the first phase. Assuming there are four members per household, the new cities in the first phase will house a population of nearly four crore.

Built-up demand

Providing a snapshot on the impact on real estate by the first phase of the DMIC (figures estimated till 2040) the report says that the total residential built-up demand will be 800 crore sq ft, while the total built-up commercial demand will be 251,622,000 sq ft. The total number of hotel rooms will be 18,233.

In a statement, Shishir Baijal, Chairman & Managing Director, Knight Frank India said, “A total of 24 nodes have been planned along the entire stretch of the DMIC. Once all the phases of the project are completed, job creation along the DMIC will be unprecedented. The resultant effects of this astronomical job creation will lead to immense real estate development across verticals in and around the project areas. As these new urban agglomerations take shape, they will also attract interest from other sectors of the economy. Increased job opportunities, coupled with a superior quality of life offered by these new cities, would provide boost to the migration of businesses and people to these cities.”

Restricted focus

Samantak Das, National Director & Chief Economist, Knight Frank India, added, “There is no denying the fact that the DMIC and other corridors will have a major impact on real estate. However, for the purpose of this study, we have restricted the focus to the impact of the DMIC along its influence area in its first phase. According to our study, there will be a rub-off effect of the implementation of DMIC initiatives on the smaller urban centres in proximity of the respective nodes and going forward, these are expected to grow at a faster rate than the present-day major urban centres.” Source: Business Line

Manipal Integrated Services buys residential campus operator Woodstock Ambience

IDFC PE-backed arm of the Manipal group seeks to build and manage student accommodations across the country as an extension of its education services business.

Manipal Integrated Services Ltd, a part of Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG) has acquired Bangalore-based Woodstock Ambience, gated living provider for students and young professionals, for an undisclosed amount, according to the company.

Founded in 2000, Woodstock has been in operation for over seven years. It is one of India's first campus style residence for post-graduate students and young professionals. The company offers facility management services to educational institutions, hospitals, corporate houses, research laboratories and hospitality institutions.

Woodstock is built on over two acres of land with single and double occupancy options which can accommodate over 1,000 people.

"Woodstock matched our requirements of providing a campus with facilities that encourage smart community living for students and young professionals. Woodstock has clientele like IBM, Infosys, Hewlett-Packard, TATA Consultancy Services and Wipro," said K Shobhit Agarwal, CFO of Manipal Integrated Services.

Incorporated in 2004, Manipal Integrated Services (formerly Manipal Servicecorp Facility Management Pvt Ltd) provides facility management services. It offers healthcare facility management, ancillary, engineering and food services.

It also seeks to build and manage student accommodations across the country as an extension of its education services business. The latest acquisition marks the first big move in tune with that strategy.

Last November, IDFC Private Equity Fund III, a fund managed by IDFC Alternatives Ltd had invested $18.10 million (Rs 100 crore) to pick a 40 per cent stake in the firm.

Manipal Education and Medical Group operates educational and healthcare institutions in India and internationally. It offers education and healthcare, continued medical education and distance education services. It also engaged in research of genomics, genetics and stem cells. 

Source: VCCircle (Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)

BY  Bhawna Gupta

Sobha Developers gives new sales guidance of $363M for FY13

BY  Pooja Sarkar; VCCircle

Has recorded drop in sales in sequential basis, but up 26 per cent year on year at 0.84 million square feet.

Bangalore based realty company Sobha Developers has seen growth in its first quarter operational numbers as compared to last year. For the quarter ended June 30, it managed to sell 0.84 million sq.ft of new space, which is valued at $87million (Rs 4,79 crore), with an average realisation rate of Rs 5,737 per square feet. Though year-on-year there is a growth in sales realisation of 26 percent, sequentially there is a decline. In Q4FY12, the realtor had sold 0.863 million square feet.

In the same period last year, Sobha had managed to sell 0.67 million square feet, for an average price realisation of Rs 4,547 per square feet.

The company has also given a new sales guidance for the year of $363 million (Rs 2,000 crore) for this fiscal for the period last year the developer managed sales of $309 million (Rs 1,700 crore). In the last quarter the developer managed to launch a new villa project called Sobha West Hill in Coimbatore with a total saleable area of 0.14 million square feet.

At present it is accruing money from projects across Bangalore, NCR, Chennai, Pune, Thrissur, Coimbatore and Mysore.

Kejal Mehta and Dhrushil Jhaveri real estate analyst from Prabhudas Liladher wrote in their report to their client “on account of strong launches and monetization of old sales, coupled with a steady execution, the company has brought its net debt down from $220 million (Rs1,210 crore) in FY11 to $207 million (Rs 1,140 crore ) in FY12. We further expect net debt to reduce to $161 million (Rs 890 crore) in FY13, resulting in a DER of 0.56, down from 0.67 in FY11.”

Sales from its Gurgaon project witnessed a strong sequential increase of 24 per cent.