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L&T hires property agents to sell Hi-Tec City

Both Colliers Jardine and Richard Ellis, another international property agency, however, will handle domestic marketing.

T O D A Y

• The Third Wave • Asia Gateway • Agents for Hi-Tec City • NIIT arms Singapore

L&T Infocity, a joint venture between Larsen and Toubro and Andhra Pradesh Infrastructure Corporation Limited, is developing, what it calls, the Hi-Tec City project involving an outlay of Rs 15 billion. L&T holds 89 per cent of the equity. APIIC accounts for the rest.

L&T will also be directly involved in marketing the project as many government organisations like VSNL and Post and Telegraphs prefer dealing directly. The real estate agencies appointed for marketing the project would be paid a brokerage of 2 per cent on every deal, a company spokesperson said. The first phase of the project, involving an outlay of Rs 600 million spread over 2.4 hectares, will bring half a million square feet of saleable space into the market by June 1998.

T Shridharan, deputy general manager (commercial), said the project is being marketed at a flat Rs 2,750 per square foot. As an incentive, the Andhra Pradesh government has exempted buyers from the 12 per cent stamp duty normally applicable, Sridharan added.

Various international IT giants have evinced keen interest in the Hyderabad project. Microsoft and Motorola representatives are visiting the site tomorrow in order to customise specifications. Pentafour also has shown interest to locate at the Madhopur complex. While 15 NRIs have paid the 40 per cent advance booking money, Sridharan expects the main marketing to begin in January after a few floors of the complex are in place.

Currently, the basement and podium of the first phase is over, and the company expects to complete the project at the rate of one floor every 11 days. The first phase is a 10-story complex.

The entire project will come up in 6 phases spread over five to seven years.

When completed, the complex will comprise nearly 5 million square feet of built-up office space. The design and construction work has been entrusted to L&T's ECC Construction Group.

Akshay Kumar, CEO of Colliers Jardine, said that there had been a large number of inquiries from several international information technology companies.

"Hyderabad is being preferred as an alternative IT location as Bangalore's power situation is erratic. Also, with a huge manpower turnover, the labour situation is bad,'' Kumar added.

L&T has denied that there has been any political interference or favour shown to the company in the award of the project.

Referring to the controversy about the project in a section of the media, the statement said the entire deal was finalised in a transparent manner and L&T was selected in competition with Reliance Industries, BPL Engineering and Chesterton Technology Park, Australia.

APIIC's risk is limited to an equity share of Rs 19.8 million while land cost will be realised by APIIC at market value plus interest, the statement adds.

- Compiled from the Indian media

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