Godrej Prop in Rs2,000 crore Bangalore plan

After Mumbai and Pune, Godrej Properties is betting big on the Bangalore real estate market.

Godrej Industries’ real estate arm has lined up Rs 2,000 crore of investments for developing five projects over 30 million square feet (sft) in Bangalore.

These projects will be a mix of residential and commercial ventures and would be developed in partnership with other investors. The company has already launched its 2 million sft residential project — Woodsman Estate — and will soon start its second one, which is joint venture with late actor Feroze Khan and his son Fardeen Khan for gated villas.

“Property development is a major focus area for us. We are also betting big on affordable housing costing less than Rs 20 lakh,” said Adi Godrej, chairman of the Godrej group, who was in Bangalore on Friday to attend a brand summit organised by CII.
The firm, which operates on a JV model with land owners, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop 50 acres of land in North Bangalore. Godrej, however, did not share details of the project. The company is also developing a project with actor Sanjay Khan’s Skystar group.

It has signed another JV with its agri-business arm — Godrej Agrovet — to develop over 10 million sft over 100 acres. “We are looking at shifting our poultry breeding farm some 90 km outside the city for bio safety reasons and use the land for residential venture,” said Godrej.

The firm has inked a deal with a local developer in Ahemdabad to develop a township project comprising of 40 million sft within municipal limits. The firm has begun spadework for properties in Mumbai, Pune, Calcutta, Kochi and Chandigarh.

Godrej Properties hit the capital market with a Rs 500 crore offer in December. Talking about the second round of fund-raising, Godrej said, “We have a strong capital position. But we have to raise more debt. In the next 2-3 years, we are also looking to raise more equity.”

The firm plans to tie up with microfinance institutions for financing affordable housing.