Puravankara takes big leap into mass housing

MUMBAI: Taking a big leap into affordable premium housing and targeting the middle classes including the first time home buyer, real estate major Puravankara Projects Limited today announced the launch of its 100% owned subsidiary, Provident Housing and infrastructure Limited.

Under Phase I alone, the affordable housing project will cover Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, and Mysore where 64,500 homes with a total built up area of 59.80 million sq ft will be constructed over the next five years at a cost of about Rs 8,000 crores. The funding for these Phase I projects will be through construction debt and customer advances amounting to Rs 6,500 crores, with internal accruals and equity sourcing the remaining Rs 1,500 crores which will be utilized for land acquisitions.

In Phase II, Provident’s foot print will also cover cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi, Jaipur, Pune and Nagpur.

The prices of Provident homes which are to be developed in a phased manner, are presently priced at Rs 10 lakhs, Rs 15 lakhs and Rs 20 lakhs and comprise of one, two and three bedroom homes.

The first three projects of Provident in Bangalore and Mysore of over 19,000 homes covering an area of 17.10 million sq ft are in the advanced stages of plan sanction with the first project in North Bangalore of 4.50 million sq ft comprising some 5,100 homes ready for launch in the next few months.

Mr Jayakar Jerome, a former IAS officer, who is credited with resurrecting the Bangalore Development Authority and taking up a slew of infrastructure projects in Bangalore City, will be the Managing Director of Provident Housing and Infrastructure Limited, while the Puravankara Group head, Mr Ravi Puravankara, will be the Chairman of the Company.

“Provident will target middle-class families and first time home buyers with the objective of meeting the ever increasing demand in this space.” said Mr Jayakar Jerome. “We will provide affordable premium homes which will cater to a largely under serviced market in the Country,” he said.

Provident has been established as an independent stand-alone entity with its own budget, offices and staff. Modern technology based methods are being used to achieve scalability at an affordable price. Provident Housing and Infrastructure Limited will function under the supervision of the Puravankara Group which is known for its premium, world class quality construction standards.
Apart from homes Provident will also develop and sell large plotted development townships for affordable housing supported by facilities like hospitals, schools and playgrounds.

With rising income levels and aspirations and the emergence of a new salaried class in the Country, the demand for homes has far out-paced supply. According an estimate, India’s housing shortage has increased from 19.4 million units in 2004 to 22.4 million in 2005-06 and this figure has since only kept rising.

The Puravankara Group with over 33 years of excellence in the upper end of the housing sector across various regions of the Country has projects in Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Mysore and Colombo. The Group also has an important presence in Dubai in the UAE and business representatives in the United Kingdom and the United States. With a land bank of over 125 million sq ft, the Group has above 20 million sq ft of residential and commercial space currently under construction. Included in this are on-going residential projects amounting to 18.30 million sq ft comprising 11,010 homes.