The Hindu Business Line : Uppal Group eyes residential projects in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad

Industry & Economy - Real Estate & Construction
Corporate - Alliances & Joint Ventures
Uppal Group eyes residential projects in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad

Moumita Bakshi Chatterjee

New Delhi, Oct 6 Real estate company Uppal Group is eyeing an opportunity outside north India and plans to kick off residential projects in Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad.

The company — which recently announced a partnership with Marriott International to operate two five-star luxury hotels and also outlined plans to build 10-12 hotels in the next few years — is now mulling a strategy for budget hotels.

“We have already acquired a plot for a housing project in Mumbai as we still see a huge demand for housing there. In addition, we are also in advanced stages of land acquisition in Pune and Hyderabad,” Mr Manish Uppal, Managing Director of The Uppal Group, said.

While the company is eyeing 26 acres in Pune for its residential project targeting the mid-market segment, in Hyderabad, it plans to launch mixed use development project. The mixed use development would include IT, residential and retail space.

Budget hotels

The realtor is also working on a plan for budget hotels in the medium-term. “We are in the process of talking to international investors for our plans. But our immediate priority is completing the projects that are ongoing. So as far as budget hotels are concerned, we expect some action only by first quarter of 2009,” he said.

According to Mr Uppal, the selling proposition for budget hotels would be the location. “Through the budget hotels, we will be targeting businessmen who visit a city or town for two-four days. We feel that such hotels need to be centrally located, and not be pushed to the outskirts of a city. Since the land is likely to be more expensive given the central location, the project can be made viable by looking at a mixed use development that allows us to sell retail space and bring down the project cost,” he said. The company may start the venture in two-three locations.

“We are yet to finalise our strategy. But we think that the budget hotel venture may be driven through a separate company, where we may look at FDI at a special purpose vehicle level,” he pointed out.