News: RMZ set to acquire large land parcel in Gurugram-17-04-2022
With many under-construction projects, RMZCorp plans to make 5-6 million sq ft operational this year and is also looking at launching at least 15-20 msf by the end of this year, spread across all cities.
Real estate developer RMZCorp is in talks to acquire a large land parcel in Gurgaon to develop around 4 -4.5 million sq ft of office space as the company plans pan-India expansion, Thirumal Govindraj, Senior Managing Director, told ET.
With many underconstructio n projects, RMZCorp plans to make 5-6 million sq ft operational this year and is also looking at launching at least 15-20 msf by the end of this year, spread across all cities.
"We are looking for something large in Gurgaon for IT development of big size. We are interested in the Gurgaon market and we will acquire something very soon," said Thirumal Govindraj. The company has about a million sq ft operational in Gurgaon. In December 2015, RMZ Corp had acquired 8 lakh square feet of IT Park space in Gurgaon from BPTP for about ₹950 crore.
"In addition, we are looking at multiple assets. As of now, we are only looking at greenfield assets but if any stressed asset comes up, we don't mind looking," he said.
In NCR, the company is currently focusing only on Gurgaon, and plans to move to other markets after it establishes itself there.
The company has planned acquisitiond in Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
"Leasing in 2021-22 was pretty healthy compared to the expectations, and 2019 was a year that cannot be the industry benchmark as it had a record leasing. The average absorption is 40-45 msf in a year and in 2019 it was 61-62 msf. So, compared with average absorption, 30- 35 msf in a pandemic year is quite good," Thirumal Govindraj said.
In Chennai, the company has 2.5 million sq ft with another 3 million starting this year; in Hyderabad, it has 5 million sq ft under construction, with 7 million sq ft that will commence in the coming months.
"In Mumbai, we will start this year with around 4 million sq ft; in Pune, we have 1 million sq. ft which is already underway, and we are acquiring another 1 million sq ft by the end of the year," he said.
In addition, the company will foray into industrial and logistics business this year and is looking to acquire 600 acres.
"We will invest roughly ₹1,200 crore in land in the next 18 months and ₹2,400 crore in construction over the same period. In phase one, we will focus on Chennai, Bangalore, Pune and NCR," said Thirumal Govindraj.
The company plans to deliver 2-3 million sq ft of warehousing space in next one year and the total potential to develop from the acquired land is about 10 million sq ft.
RMZ Corp has a presence in six major cities across India and is on a path of growth and the company plans to scale to a global portfolio of 350 million square feet by 2035, from 67 million sq ft to 87 msf in the coming years, building with a real asset value from $10 billion to $15 billion by 2026.
