TDI to invest Rs 1k cr in NCR

TDI to invest Rs 1k cr in NCR
The Economic Times, August 20, 2009, Page 9

After Successful Phase 1, Co To Build 350 Low-Cost Houses In Kundli

Sanjeev Choudhary NEW DELHI

Delhi-based realty firm TDI is planning to invest Rs 1,000 crore to build lowerpriced homes in the national capital region in the next three years, a senior company executive said.

“The demand for homes is coming back slowly,” said TDI managing director Kamal Taneja, adding that the company was focusing on lower priced homes to attract buyers. TDI, which has its real estate projects spread over Delhi, Kundli and Panipat in Haryana and Mohali in Punjab, recently launched 350 residential units in Kundli and claims to have sold all of it in just a month. The company is now planning to launch another 350 homes over the weekend in Kundli, around 35 kms from central Delhi. The 900-sqft independent floor homes will be priced between Rs 16.50-19.50 lakh. The company will invest around Rs 1,000 crore to build a total of 700 homes in Kundli over the next three years, Mr Taneja said.

TDI has tied up with architectural firms Drew Dickson Associates of Australia and HO Partners of Hong Kong for development of its 1600-acre Kundli township. Following a revival in the capital market, many listed real estate companies, including Unitech, HDIL and Sobha, have raised funds via QIP, while some other unlisted firms such as Lodha Developers and Emaar MGF, are lining up their initial share sale. But Mr Taneja says the market is still volatile and an IPO is not on the cards for TDI immediately.

He says his company is relatively less leveraged and doesn’t intend to go in for any private equity deals either immediately and would focus on selling homes to raise cash. “There is very little private equity money available and there are too many developers chasing it. Also, private equity investments made these days are actually debt structured as equity,” he says, explaining why he is not excited about getting PE fund infusion in his company.