Citizens’ Research Collective on SEZ

S. Shanker

Mumbai, November 22, 2007: Chennai-based ETA Star Property Developers, part of the $4-billion ETA Ascon Group in the UAE, is in the process of finalising an IT SEZ development in Coimbatore.

With Kochi turning a favoured IT destination, plans are on to build a 500-plus villa type residential project there.

The company is also inking a deal for a 10-acre site at Hyderabad for a residential project.

The association with Binny Engineering had provided ETA Star access to a land bank over 400 acres in Bangalore and Chennai, which over the years had appreciated. The company is already onto realty projects worth over Rs 12,000 crore in the country.

“We are in the process of consolidation and will reach out for a pan-India presence before stepping into the hospitality space as well,” said Mr Abid A. Junaid, Executive Director, ETA, here on Wednesday.

The ETA Ascon Group backing will help ETA Star to source expertise - from conceptualising to design to management in-house.

Work on its 1,200-acre integrated township at Sriperumbudur near Chennai has begun.

The Rs 13,500-crore project, to be taken up in phases, would also encompass healthcare and hotel segment. ETA holds 59.9 per cent stake in the special purpose vehicle floated for the venture, the Tamil Nadu Industries Development Corporation 0.1 per cent and rest to be garnered though foreign investments..

“We bank on our core strength in development and look for value additions from JV partners,” said Mr Junaid.

This apart, the company is working on a Rs 1,000-crore SEZ project (developable value) of 4.19 million sq.ft. on Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), Chennai.

Two other projects at Chennai are also coming up - a 219-residential flat complex at Porur with the saleable area worth Rs 120 crore and a 412 residential unit on OMR valued at Rs 200 crore.

Two residential projects in Bangalore are near completion. A Rs 500-crore 927-unit project near Whitefield is 80 per cent complete, while a high-end 57-unit housing complex has just been completed.

source: The Hindu Business Line