Now, Raymond land in Thane coming up for development

MUMBAI: Mumbai’s realty market is buzzing again. High level sources say that Gautam Singhania’s Raymond Group has entered into a joint venture with construction magnate Shapoorji Pallonji to develop 140 acres of excess lands that it owns in Thane.

Initially, about 20 acres of land, which is free of encumbrances, will be developed. Land in this area is selling for roughly Rs1,500 per sqft.

While the nitty-gritty of the joint venture are being worked out, the 50:50 agreement will see mixed-use development for residential, retail and commercial purposes.

However, Ram Krishna Sharma, the CEO of Shapoorji Pallonji, refused to comment while Raymonds president Pradeep Bhandari said, “We have not signed any JV.”

“While excess lands will be gradually utilised, we are in no hurry as real estate is not our core business,” Bhandari added.

Despite the denials, the buzz refuses to die down. “Such deals take a long time to close. The company had planned to sell the land but later decided to develop it on its own,” said a real estate analyst.