Ascendas Property Fund Trustee Pvt Ltd, the Trustee-Manager of Ascendas India Trust (a-iTrust), has signed an agreement with Phoenix Infocity Pvt Ltd to acquire its portfolio of five buildings in Hi-Tec City 2 Special Economic Zone here.

While two of the buildings are completed and occupied, the other three buildings are expected to be completed over the next four to five years.

Operating space

“a-iTrust will immediately acquire the two completed buildings, with a built-up area worth Rs 174 crore. The remaining three buildings would cost about Rs 680 crore. The acquisition will strengthen a-iTrust's position to capture the opportunities provided by the rapid growth of India's information technology industry,” a press release said here on Thursday.

The properties are located in Hyderabad's IT corridor of Madhapur and Gachibowli.

“Post acquisition of all the five buildings, a-iTrust's portfolio of operating space will increase by 34 per cent from 6.4 million sq ft to 8.6 million sq ft. Besides, we own land that can yield another 2.5 million sq ft in Bangalore,” Mr Jonathan Yap, CEO of the Trustee-Manager, said.

Buoyant demand

”We are optimistic that the demand for business space in Hyderabad will remain buoyant, supported by the city's strong economic fundamentals and its IT sector. Strong demand for business space has driven the occupancy of Hyderabad's Grade A office space up, to 97 per cent as at December 31, 2010,” he said.

The new properties will be managed by the Ascendas group. After closing the acquisition, Hi-Tec City 2 SEZ will be renamed aVance Business Hub.

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