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Leading international property consultancy JLL India has announced the successful forging of a partnership deal between K Raheja Corp and Gera to develop and operate a prime 30-acre land parcel in Pune’s IT hotbed Kharadi. The land parcel will be developed into an ultra-modern IT SEZ under the ‘Gera Commerzone’ banner, and will yield 3.5 million sft. of leasable space. According to Sanjay Bajaj, Managing Director – Pune, JLL India, “This IT Park will go a long way in meeting Pune’s massive pent-up demand for Grade A office spaces in the Information Technology segment. Against the supply of 4.8 million sft. of Grade A office spaces which Pune received in 2015, 4.7 million square feet were absorbed. IT/IteS is the city’s biggest contributor to prime office space absorption as well as employment generation. Pune has to date been Maharashtra’s strongest performers after Mumbai in terms of IT/ITeS-spurred growth.” The announcement of this major IT SEZ aligns favourably with Maharashtra’s new IT Policy, which provides various incentives and exemptions to IT/IteS companies and developers of IT parks. Kharadi, one of the most important IT/IteS locations in Pune, is home to major global IT and business process outsourcing companies. Meanwhile Raheja Group has lined up INR 2000 cr of investment in expanding its commercial real estate portfolio in Navi Mumbai by adding six million sft. of commercial space including its fourth IT park.

NBCC BAGS OVER INR 17500 CR ORDERS

The National Buildings Construction Corporation has secured orders worth INR 17,516 cr in the last financial year. NBCC has secured big ticket orders including INR 2149 cr order from the Indian Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) for redevelopment of the exhibition venue at Pragati Maidan, and INR 5828 cr. development project of AIIMS. NBCC, under its operation, broadly covers three areas including real estate, EPC contracting and Project Management Consultancy (PMC). NBCC has secured a total PMC business of INR 226.96 cr. including roads, offices, airports, hospitals and industrial and environmental structures.

OFFICE SPACE DEMAND SOARS

The office demand in eight top cities of Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmadabad has soared to 11.7 msf in the first quarter of 2016, registering an increase of 19 percent over the same period last year. According to a study by Cushman & Wakefield, Bengaluru and Hyderabad accounted for a chunk of the total demand at about 72 percent on the back of strong activity from companies in the IT-ITES sector. Bengaluru witnessed demand of 6.1 msf, registering a rise of 47 percent from the year ago quarter. Bengaluru & Hyderabad also bucked the trend of sluggish absorption, while Delhi NCR saw a dip in demand by 10 percent to 0.7 msf as occupiers continue to consolidate their real estate footprint in the region. The supply across the select 8 cities saw huge surge of 41 percent to 11.1 msf, majority of which was noted in Bengaluru, followed by DElhi NCR and Hyderabad. Another significant aspect was that pre-commitments more than doubled at 4.6 msf, compared to same quarter last year, forming 40 percent of the total demand.

REAL ESTATE REGULATION ACT NOTIFIED

The Real Estate Regulation & Development Act (RERA) has come into force, with its notification on May 1, 2016. This notification paves the way for the implementation of RERA over the next one year. Under RERA, each state is required to set up regulatory authority in a year. Before that states have been given six months time to frame specific rules. These rules will be based on the model rules framed by Urban Development & Housing Ministry. For Delhi, the framing of rules and constitution of regulatory authority will be done by the ministry. Once RERA gets implemented, it will empower & protect, property buyers, ensuring fair deals and transparency in transactions.

NO TAKERS FOR DHARAVI REDEVELOPMENT

Thanks to tough eligibility conditions, Maharashtra government’s ambitious project to redevelop Asia’s largest slum Dharavi in Mumbai has run into rough weather. As the slum redevelopment project spread over 240 hectares failed to elicit any response from developers, Dharavi Redevelopment Project Authority (DRPA) had to postpone the date for submission of bids worth INRs 22000 cr. twice, in April. As per the redevelopment plan, the entire development area has been divided into five sectors, out of which four sectors will be redeveloped by private developers, while the fifth sector is to be developed by the Maharashtra Housing & Area Development Authority (MHADA).

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