Unity Infra to launch three Nagpur malls by mid-2012

Unity Infraprojects is looking to commission its three malls in Nagpur by mid-2012 after a delay of two years, said chief operating officer Yogen Lal.

The company is executing the malls on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

While the Rs145 crore Danaganj mall was expected to be completed by end-2009, the other two, collectively worth about Rs150 crore, were to be completed by mid-2010.

But these projects were put on hold due to difficulty in accessing funds as a result of a severe slump in the realty sector, amongst the hardest-hit in the downturn.

“The market is slowly recovering. Work is on in the Danaganj project and it will be commissioned in a year,” Lal said.

He said that financial closure for the other two projects will be achieved by the next quarter.

“One of them has an FSI (floor space index) issue,” Lal said, not divulging the details. They will come onstream a few months after the Danaganj mall.

These malls, with a concession period of 30 years, are Unity’s only BOT projects.

Asked if there is any progress in Unity’s Rs140 crore, 8 lakh sq ft IT park in Goa, which has also been delayed, Lal said, “No, there is status quo there because of some local political issues.”
Unity has an order book of Rs3,835 crore, which includes the Rs200 crore orders it bagged last week.

Nearly 75% of the portfolio comprises government orders, most of which are in water and related areas. About 15% of the orders are real estate contracts. Unity is currently the lowest bidder in projects worth Rs500 crore.

For the quarter ended September 30, Unity posted an over 14% jump from a year ago in both its net sales and net profit to Rs346.12 crore and Rs21.52 crore, respectively.