Suraksha ARC promises to restart stalled Jaypee Infra projects soon

Will infuse working capital funds, deploy a new tech team to revive stalled work; plans to collect dues from home buyers and monetise unsold inventory to expedite construction

Suraksha Asset Reconstruction Company, the highest bidder for Jaypee Infratech, is promising to restart the stalled projects as soon as it receives all the  statutory permissions, its CEO Aalok Dave said.

"Our strategy is to invest in the stalled real estate projects and take monitoring control of the projects to bring financial and operational discipline for revival and completion of the project," Dave said.

Suraksha ARC, which pipped government-owned NBCC India to win the race,  will infuse requisite working capital funds, deploy a new technical team to revive the stalled construction. It also plans to collect the dues from home buyers and monetise the unsold inventory to expedite the construction.

Suraksha ARC won the race to acquire Jaypee Infratech after the company was sent for debt resolution to the NCLT in August 2017. The company had defaulted to loans worth Rs 22,600 crore. Apart from the Expressway connecting Delhi and Agra, the company also owns land bank around the project.

Though Suraksha won the race after a long delay, last-minute litigation by a few stakeholders is threatening to delay the transaction further.

"We have been studying the Jaypee project since the last five years. We were interested in the project as it is one of the largest project in India at one location in North India with the development potential of more than 50 million square feet. We are committed to revive and complete the Wishtown project and handover the dream homes to more than 20,000 homebuyers families who are waiting for over 10 years," he said.

Dave said Suraksha ARC is seeking support from the homebuyers, the regulator Yamuna Authority and former promoters to continue uninterrupted construction at site.

"The support of Noida Authority is also essential for resolving matters like pending occupancy certificates (OCs), getting essential infrastructure like water, electricity, etc, in the interest of homebuyers. We believe Noida Authority and Yamuna Authority, under the guidance of Government of Uttar Pradesh, will work harmoniously on all the matters and expedite completion of projects in the interest of homebuyers," he said.

Dave said Yamuna Expressway project is a unique project which can be revived fast with the help of all stakeholders.

"Keeping the past aside, we believe that erstwhile promoters would like to see their vision turning into a reality and home buyers getting the keys to their houses. Besides, the Supreme Court has already cleared most of the differences and guided a way forward for a successful resolution in their order in March this year," he said.

Dave said the objective of the insolvency and bankruptcy code (IBC) is expeditious debt resolution and in Jaypee's case, it has already taken four years. "About 98.66 per cent of the CoC (committee of creditors) has already approved our resolution plan and ICICI Bank was the only dissenting creditor having around 1.34 per cent of voting power," he said.

"We feel looking at the larger public good and interest of home buyers, ICICI Bank will take liberal view for the larger resolution. The Yamuna Authority has also clarified that they want the resolution."

Dave said with respect to  home buyers in the stalled real estate projects, the amendments in the IBC proved to be very effective, as homebuyers are now recognised as financial creditors and have voting powers in the CoC meetings.

"The Indian Government’s stressed asset fund is also helping revive a lot of stalled projects.  Besides as the RERA Act is being implemented effectively, hence no money can be diverted by the builders. The  Government of India has really reformed the sector in favour of homebuyers and brought in much essential financial discipline among the real estate developers," he said.