The Hindu Business Line : SSI plans township on Binny Mills property

On the drawing board
The company proposes to develop holiday or second-homes.
It plans to set up a vegetarian restaurant chain with locations in tourist destinations and along national highways

Chennai , March 13

SSI Ltd plans to develop a township on the 70-acre Binny Mills property in Perambur near Chennai, according to Mr Kalpathi S. Suresh, Chairman and CEO, SSI Ltd.

Mr Suresh said that the township would have 6,000 apartments. Each apartment would cost about Rs 30 lakh. The township would offer a number of facilities such as a school, two to three swimming pools, a dozen play areas and a five-km walking track around the entire perimeter. It would have round- the-clock security and would be fenced.The company planned to deliver 1,000 apartments a year with the entire project being ready in six years.

Mr Suresh said that the company is planning to develop other townships and is looking at properties. The company has about 37 acres near Mahabalipuram on the East Coast Road. He said the company plans to develop holiday or second-homes there. The project is targeted at people who already own a house in the city and require additional investment options.

The total built-up area would be around 1.5 million sq ft and the project cost is about Rs 140-Rs 150 crore, he said.

Hospitality industry

SSI has entered the hospitality industry with its acquisition of the Ooty Dasaprakash hotel. The hospitality business would be come under the AGS Hotels and Resorts banner. This mid-segment hotel with 105 rooms has been refurbished and renamed the Ooty Dasaprakash Villa Park. The company will continue to use the Dasaprakash name in the near future, Mr Suresh said. The hotel would be opened early April.

Mr Suresh said the company plans to set up a vegetarian restaurant chain with locations in tourist destinations and along national highways with hygienic and predictable ethnic cuisine. Two restaurant brands the Udipi Krishna Bhavan and the Almorah have been opened at the Ooty hotel and would be extended to the restaurant chain. The first would serve traditional Udipi food and the second would serve North Indian cuisine, he said.

Entertainment space

Mr Suresh said the company has also entered the entertainment space with the acquisition of the Chennai-based Telephoto Entertainments Ltd. He said that it is setting up a multiplex in Villivakkam and has set up one in Arumbakkam, a suburb in Chennai. The company would operate between 15 to 20 screens in the next 12 months period.

Mr Suresh said that SSI had decided to operate the cinemas under its subsidiary company, AGS Cinemas. The multiplexes would be standalone projects and not located inside malls. The mall model, he said, is not sustainable in the long run as there will be an increase in supply, which would put pressure on pricing. Factoring this in, the pricing for the tickets would range between Rs 50 and Rs 60, he said.

This project would be funded mainly through debt, he said.

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