The Hindu Business Line : `Slump in realty temporary'

Though the GDP is likely to be around 7 per cent only, it is good enough to provide a good momentum in the real-estate industry, said Mr J.P. Nayak - President (Operations), Larsen & Toubro Ltd, announcing the concurrent international exhibitions on building materials and real-estate - BuildArch 2008 and BuildUp 2008 - to be held during October 21-24 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC).

The events would enable industry players to showcase the latest technology in building materials, construction, architecture etc. Exhibitors from 10 countries, would participate, and there would be country-group pavilions from Australia, Italy and Korea. Mr Nayak, who is also Chairman, BuildArch 2008, said the main aim of the events is to highlight the importance of this industry with regard to employment generation in the country.

"We would also like to highlight to policy-makers how the regulatory environment impedes development. It is necessary to develop a framework to aid development. There is also a great need for trained people in the industry," he said, adding that the events would address these issues among many others.

Mr Irfan Razack - Chairman and Managing Director, Prestige Estates Projects, and Chairman, BuildUp 2008, said developers were seeking some policy changes, including reduced taxes and speedy approvals of projects. "Today, approval processes take one to one-and-a-half years. There is need to shorten this period and also rationalise the taxes levied on the real-estate industry. The huge tax burden is ultimately passed on to the customer. A reduced tax would only benefit the customer," he said.

`Best investment option'

"The fundamentals of the sector are good. Real-estate is still the best investment option around, and it's always a good time to buy property, provided it is from a good developer and has been developed properly," he said.

On the sidelines, Mr Nayak said that L&T Infrastructure Finance Pvt Ltd, L&T's subsidiary in the non-banking financial services space, was exploring the option of setting up a real-estate mutual fund. "We are exploring the opportunity, but nothing is concrete," he added.

Related Stories:
Good times continue for Aban Offshore

More Stories on : Software | Outlook

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page