The Hindu Business Line : Realtors build dreams on unused industrial land

FROM shabby industrial units in the heart of the city to impressive office buildings, plush shopping malls and entertainment centres - the Indian realtors now seem to be capitalising on large chunks of unused industrial land.

These units have either been shut down due to labour problems or have been ousted from the city limits due to stringent ecological norms. And by virtue of being located in the heart of the cities, the value of these properties are high, hence, making sense for the landowners to capitalise on them.

According to Mr Tanaji Chakrabarti, Head, India Property Research, this trend signifies a shift from a manufacturing to service-based economy. "The conversion of old economy land for redevelopment is quite popular in Mumbai, and is fast picking up in Delhi also," he said.

In Mumbai for instance, a number of mill lands in Lower Parel, such as that of Kamala Mills, have been leased out to companies such as Ogilvy and Mather, HDFC and IDBI. Similarly, the Phoenix Mills campus has been leased to retail outlets such as Big Bazaar.

According to Mr Anshuman Magazine, Managing Director, South Asia, CB Richard Ellis, "Apart from optimising assets, this trend also helps in improving the social infrastructure of that particular locality."

Mr Magazine said that CB Richard Ellis has a special cell that advises the factory owners on how to optimally use the assets. "We also market the projects and help raise funds for it through financial institutions."

Though the trend seems to be more prominent in Mumbai than in Delhi, with the former having a larger number of industrial developments within the city, there have been talks about the redevelopment of the large chunks of land in the business district of Connaught Place in the Capital, which is owned by the Railways.

A senior official from the Ministry of Railways in a recent interview with Business Line had mentioned about the Government's plans to set up a mega shopping mall, a five-star hotel and a hospital close to the New Delhi railway station. On the other hand, Mr Abhijit Bhaumik, Director, Feedback Ventures Ltd, says that there have been proposals to set up similar projects in the Capital also, by companies such as DCM who have been asked to move shop beyond city limits on environmental grounds.

"However, these projects have been held in abeyance as the Supreme Court is yet to decide on how much land the developers can utilise for redevelopment projects," he said. Though re-engineering of the Indian cities are taking place, Mr Magazine of Richard Ellis feels that the pace of change is quite slow.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail
Comment on this article to BLFeedback@thehindu.co.in

Stories in this Section
Festive October brings smile back to auto sector players

`High fiscal gap hits pvt sector growth too'

No funds crunch: Krishna

Plastic collection competition

Coimbatore excise collection seen buoyant

Afghanistan invites pvt sector

Lankan trade team arrives in Bangalore

Bangalore makes headway in skin and hair care business

Jayalalithaa inaugurates new bus terminus in Chennai

Industrial fuels sale up in October

AP: Gasohol to be launched today