Date:10/05/2007 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/05/10/stories/2007051002221200.htm

Back Fire Capital, Jhaveri Group launch $180-m township

S.Shanker

It is the first FDI-promoted township in Madhya Pradesh

Indore May 9 Fire Capital Fund of Mauritius and the Indore-based real estate company, M. Jhaveri Group, have announced launch of a $180-million integrated township here.

It is said to be the first FDI-promoted township in Madhya Pradesh. The Mauritius Fund will have a 49 per cent stake in the venture, while the Jhaveri Group will hold the balance. HDFC is said to have assured them funds for construction.

The joint venture partners will have an initial investment of about Rs 50 crore. Mr Om Chaudhry, Managing Director of Fire Capital, said his focus was on tier-II cities.

Other cities

Fire Capital is also finalising projects in other cities such as Chennai, Bangalore, Jaipur, Nagpur, Bhubhaneswar and Dehradun, with investments ranging from $5 million to $10 million. The Indore venture is the first investment of the fund in India.

The fund has a corpus of $120 million and could bring in about $250 million with co-investments, he said. The association with the Jhaveri Group would extend to other cities such as Bhopal, Gwalior and Jabalpur, Mr Chaudhry said, adding that real estate sale in Indore was set to cross $1 billion in few years.

The 137-acre project will have about 4 million square feet of residential space, comprising row houses, cottages, villas and high-rise buildings. The commercial built up area of 2 million sq.ft. will house hotels, malls and schools. The first phase of the township, `Silver Springs', is expected to be completed in two years and rest by four years.

Mr Abhishek Jhaveri, Managing Director of Silver Realties and Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, a joint venture company floated for the project, said the residential houses of about 1,600 units would be priced between Rs 1,100 and Rs 1,800 per sq.ft.

Meanwhile, the proposal is reported to have drawn opposition from the political front, with several leaders, including the Indore Member of Parliament, Ms Sumitra Mahajan, voicing concern that it lacked necessary civic infrastructure support. The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Shivraj Singh Chauhan, inaugurated the project.