The Hindu Business Line : FIRE Arcor’s township in Nagpur

FIRE Arcor Infrastructure Pvt Ltd has announced the launch of an integrated township in Nagpur with a project outlay of over Rs 1,000 crore ($200 million), according to a press release. With more than 6 million sq.ft of built-up area, the township, ‘The Empyrean’, is the largest FDI promoted project in Central India.

FIRE Arcor is a joint venture between FIRE Capital Fund, a real-estate focussed private equity fund, and the Arcor Group, Nagpur.

The Empyrean, conceptualised and planned by the architectural firm Aedas of Hong Kong, offers 5,000 residential units, including villas, row houses and affordable apartments.

Located at Kothewada on the Outer Ring Road, adjoining the MIHAN project, the project is in the prime development areas in Nagpur. This township will also have special riverfront sports and recreation zones of more than five acres. The Empyrean will also offer retail facilities, commercial/office towers, banquet halls, clubhouse, hospital and a hotel. The integrated township is expected to be completed in phases over the next six years, with Phase I getting delivered in 24-30 months from now.

Property consultants hit

International property consultants have been hit by the slowdown in recent months, but those offering a diversified range of services have done better than pure-play brokerage firms, according to a press release from Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

The release, quoting Sanjay Dutt, CEO-Business, JLLM, says its findings indicate that year-on-year growth for international property consultants was at 30 per cent from 2006 till the slowdown in end-2008. This was followed by a period of stagnation in growth from the beginning of the slowdown, a case-to-case decrease of around 10 per cent from that point until the past two months, and a general growth of 5-7 per cent recently since the beginning of revival.

Going forward, there are considerable opportunities in consulting with a 30 per cent upsurge in demand for portfolio management, as well as project and facilities management. There is now scope for real estate companies to exit surplus or distressed assets, address the requirements of HNIs and catalyse debt funding for developers.

JLLM also stepped up our investments in strategic business consulting for domestic clients, as well as in catering to government contracts.

In the worst phase of the slowdown, overall demand for leasing and selling certainly dropped; however, JLLM saw a corresponding increase in the demand for research, portfolio management and project and facilities management.

The effect of the slowdown was most visible in the residential segment, as it is very economy-sensitive. There was also a decisive impact on deals pertaining to retail and office spaces, the latter category predominantly in IT/ITES and MNCs. By the same coin, JLLM witnessed an upsurge in deals with domestic companies. With these, the number of transactions rose while the value of these transactions decreased.

MNRE push for green buildings

There is a need to explore the possibility of retrofitting existing buildings to improve energy efficiency along the lines of green buildings, said the Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Dr Farooq Abdullah.

Visiting one of the largest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified green buildings in India — the Olympia Technology Park in Chennai — the Minister suggested to the representatives of the CII Godrej Green Building Council that all government buildings can be retrofitted and all new structures could be built to green norms.

The Minister toured the IT building to familiarise himself with the environment-friendly features and the energy-saving measures adapted. Olympia Technology Park uses 40 per cent less energy compared to other conventional buildings of its type, a press release from Olympia said.

Olympia Technology Park is LEED rated for core and shell, which is a green building rating for sustainable design of a new construction covering the structure, envelope and the HVAC system.

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