Pharma firm to venture into realty

Ind-Swift Ltd, a leading research-driven pharmaceutical group of India, is diversifying into real estate with the construction of multi-storeyed apartments in NAC Zirakpur.

Spread across four acres in Village Dhakoli, the residential complex under the umbrella name "Ind-Swift Infrastructure Development" has got approval from the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Board.

Speaking to Business Standard, Ind-Swift Infrastructure Development Director Himanshu Jain said with an initial investment of Rs 50 crore, 224 units would be constructed.

"Construction will start this month and 15 months from now we will hand over the units to the customers," said Jain.

Giving details of the project, he said six-storeyed apartments would have 84 two-bedroom units, 112 three-bedroom units, and 28 penthouses. The company is expecting a turnover of Rs 72 crore in 2007.

The features of the apartments and penthouses will be 24-hour water supply, individual power backup, a club, broadband facility, and piped cooking gas.

According to Jain, the boom in real estate in the region, fuelled by IT and industrial development in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, is the force behind the diversification. In the second phase of the expansion, to start in three months, Ind-Swift Infrastructure Development will focus on hospitality and entertainment. It has plans to open a chain of clubs in 40 cities across India.

"We are in the process of starting another housing project in Ludhiana. Our emphasis is on developing apartments on the periphery of large cities and towns, even as far as Pune and Mumbai," Jain said.