Ajmera Realty lines up Rs1,000 crore expansion

Ajmera Realty and Infrastructure, a Mumbai-based realtor, plans to invest close to Rs1,000 crore in the real estate and power sectors in the next five years even as it is looking at exiting some of its non-core assets including cement business and a land parcel in Bahrain.

The company has lined up Rs300-500 crore investment for developing residential projects, a mix of high-end and low-cost housing, in western India.

“We are focusing mainly on the Mumbai market. We may also look at Pune, Ahmedabad and Bangalore,” said O P Gandhi, chief financial officer, Ajmera Realty and Infrastructure.

Of the targeted investment, which would be a mix of internal accruals and private equity funding, about Rs200 crore would come from internal accruals in the next two financial years.

“For the rest, the company would look at private equity funding, only if required,” he said.

Ajmera also plans to pump in Rs300-500 crore in the power business in the next five years, the official said.

Most of these investments would be made in the renewable energy space - mostly solar power and bio-fuels. The company is looking mainly at Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan for the solar projects which would smaller plants at multiple locations.

The power sector expansion would be largely funded through debt marginally through internal accruals. The plans for the power sector foray, however, are at a primary stage, Gandhi said.

The group has put its cement plant in Gujarat on the block and expects close to Rs65 crore for it. The 300 tonne per annum cement plant will allow the buyer access to a limestone mine with reserves of one million tonne per annum for the next 30 years, he said.

In addition, the listed company also holds a land parcel in Bahrain in a joint venture with Mayfair Housing, a Mumbai-based realtor.
With internal issues in this geography, the group has been unable to undertake any major development on this land parcel, Gandhi said.