Shriram Properties to build 7,300 flats in four cities

Bangalore, Dec 2 : Shriram Properties, a leading developer in South India, will build about 7,300 apartments in Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Visakhpatnam over the next 24-30 months.

"Over 50 percent of the flats (3,042) will be built in Bangalore to meet the growing demand for affordable housing," Shriram managing director M. Murali told reporters here Wednesday.

"With the sentiment turning positive and speculation diminishing, we are seeing genuine buyers coming back to us for their dream house," he said.

Of the remaining apartments, 1,640 units will be built in Chennai, 1,632 in Visakhapatnam and 1,020 in Kolkata in two-three phases.

The company has identified four locations in southern and eastern suburbs of Bangalore to build 3,042 units, measuring 600-1,200 square feet, in three phases.

The project will come up at Guduvanchery in Chennai, Uttarpara town off Kolkata and Madurawada in Visakhapatnam.

The project cost is estimated at about Rs.1,500 crore, with the company already having invested Rs.850 crore on land, raw materials and development of sites.

The Rs.600-crore Shriram has raised Rs.1,100 crore from three overseas private venture partners -- Walton Street Capital, Starwood Capital Group and Sun Apollo -- for the project by divesting 22 percent of promoters' holding.

"To meet the budget of middle class families, we are pricing the flats between Rs.10 lakh (Rs.1 million) and Rs.30 lakh (Rs.3 million) with a host of amenities, including landscape, jogging tracks, community halls, swimming pools and gyms," Murali said.

The company has also tied up with a school chain to set up educational opportunities to the children of the flat owners in the neighbourhood.

"With the recession receding and the economy on the upswing, genuine demand for housing is poised to grow by 25-30 percent over the next two-three years," he said.

The 14-year-old Shriram Properties is the real estate arm of the Chennai-based Shriram group, which reported a turnover of Rs.20,000 crore (Rs.200 billion) in 2008-09 from diversified businesses ranging from transport to finance.