The Hindu Business Line : Mangal Tirth to enter facility management

AFTER having managed Chennai's mega shopping mall, Spencer Plaza for over a decade, real estate developer, Mangal Tirth Estate Ltd, is now looking at offering its facility management services to other malls, offices and even residential complexes.

These services would be offered by Sthithi Maintenance & Services Ltd, which is the facility management division of Mangal Tirth.

Mr M. Balasubramanium, Director, Mangal Tirth, told Business Line, "We are now looking at leveraging our vast experience and expertise in mall management and facility management to other malls and commercial complexes."

He said that the company is hoping to offer facility management service for at least one-million sq.ft. space in Chennai by the end of this year. "We are already in talks with the developers of two huge malls which are going to come up in Chennai within the next one year."

Apart from malls, the company is also looking at offering its services to large format retail chains like FoodWorld and food courts like Planet Yum. "The services in these kind of outlets would mostly comprise house-keeping and engineering," said Mr Balasubramanium.

As far as residential complexes are concerned, the company is only going to look at offering its services to large condominiums. It has already tied-up with the Chennai-based developers Jain Housing Pvt. Ltd for its project in Venus Colony, and is in the process of signing up with Chaitanya Builders.

Mr Balasubramanium said that unlike other facility management companies, which normally outsource all their resources, Sthithi would have its own equipment and manpower. This, according to him, would give the company a price advantage over its competitors. "Our costs are going to be almost 60-70 per cent lesser than competition."