Unitech is making waves with the launch of its “Grande” residential township on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway stretching 340 acres. The developer had stolen a march over its rival DLF in the purchase of the property at Rs.1, 583 crore last year, marking the largest land deal in India yet.
The Grande, which would house a 9-hole golf course and 80 high rise buildings, some of these touching 50 floors, is expected to be ready for occupation by mid-2010. The Grande apartments are pegged at Rs.7,750 per sq. ft while properties from Omaxe and Eldeco in the vicinity are selling at Rs.5,000 per sq. ft. Unitech is confident of a good response to its Rs.1.5 crore worth apartments from the quality conscious investor.
The developer is expected to float a Real Estate Investment Trust overseas in 2008 to generate USD 2-3 billion to finance its numerous projects in India. Singapore, with its investor-friendly regulations, appears the most likely choice, though Hong Kong and the London Stock Exchange are also being considered. The company has floated 6 Special Purpose Vehicles to execute six commercial projects which cover 21.5 million sq. ft. The real estate investment trust floated by Unitech will purchase 60% of its stake from Unitech Corporate Parks.
Four of these commercial projects are IT Special Economic Zones (SEZs) located in the National Capital Region (NCR), Noida and Kolkata where developmental work has already started. The sell-out to the REIT would be phased over 3 to 4 instalments by April 2010, with each phase generating capital worth USD 500 to 600 million.
