Real estate arm of Arvind Group, Arvind Smart Spaces Ltd, has set its eyes on affordable housing projects as the company is launching a 1.2 million square feet scheme under the name of - Arvind Aavishkaar - in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

The company, which currently has about 8 million square feet of project pipeline, looks to capitalise on the tax incentives provided for the affordable housing sector. The Centre's affordable housing push provides income-tax benefit for corporate under section 80IBA of the I-T Act.

To be located at the Arvind Smart City in Naroda area of Ahmedabad, the new scheme will have 1,200 units of 2-BHK category having a carpet area of 500-650 sq ft with prices ranging between Rs 20-35 lakh without taxes.

"There are encouraging tax incentives on profits earned from the affordable housing schemes. We are bullish on this segment for strong growth as we were not present in the category," Kamal Singal, MD & CEO, Arvind Smart Spaces Ltd told BusinessLine .

The scheme will be rolled-out in two phases, with the first phase of 600 units to be launched on Saturday and likely to be completed in 3.5-4 years.

Arvind Smart Spaces is also expanding its portfolio with a launch of Uplands - a scheme of high-end villas spread across 135 acres on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. The project is under development stage and the possession will start taking place between December 2018-March 2019. Besides this, the company has a plotting scheme near Sanand for 500 plots spread across 150 acres.

According to Singal, the company will look for growth from new segments and emerging markets. Its presence in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar is set to fuel the growth, while it also plans to expand to Pune soon.

The company already has 2.5 million sq ft of its 8 mn sq ft pipeline at Bengaluru, while 5.5 sqft is located in Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar. "We are planning to enter Pune market for which initial agreements and documentations are underway. This will be a high-end apartment scheme in Pune," Singal said..

It has 3.5 million sq ft under luxury segment and 3.5 million sq ft under mid-segment, while one million sq ft under commercial segment.

Arvind Smart Spaces had posted a revenue of Rs 202 crore for the fiscal 2018 with a net profit of Rs 30 crore. EBITDA for the year stood at Rs 65 crore. While its revenues grew from Rs 87 crore in fiscal 2015 to Rs 202 crore in 2018, its profits nearly tripled from Rs 11 crore since fiscal 2015.

Notably, the company's EBITDA has been rising since fiscal 2015 every year from Rs 25 crore to Rs 37 crore in fiscal 2016 and Rs 46 crore in fiscal 2017. The company shares ended down at Rs 160.95 on the NSE.

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