 "DLF to build 3 mn sq ft of commercial space in FY17")
Focusing on high-value office space development, DLF plans to develop around three million sq ft of commercial space this financial year.
“While two million sq ft of space is being developed on NH-8 in Gurgaon, one million sq ft of space is being developed in Chennai. The idea is to develop premium real estate with an upmarket feel to it,” said Amit Grover, national director, DLF Offices Business.
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The company till now has developed 27 million sq ft of commercial space. Last year, the realty major did no new commercial development as it wanted to first exhaust the space already developed. Once that happened, the company started new projects. DLF Cyber City, which houses some of the biggest names in banking and information technology sectors, is on NH-8. DLF has built around 13 million sq ft of space in Cyber City area.
According to sources, the company is concentrating more on the commercial real estate space as the demand for premium office areas from existing as well as new customers is high. “Most of the assets have 98 per cent occupancy rates. When we would develop our new product, 50 per cent of the space take up would be by our existing customer base, while the rest would be by new customers who are mostly in banking, e-commerce, and information technology sectors,” added Grover.
The firm is also about to complete developing one million sq ft of space at the Chennai IT Parks. The real estate major is also working on its DLF Cybercity project for commercial operations in Odisha. The project, coming up on a sprawling 54-acre campus on the outskirts of Bhubaneshwar, is estimated to cost around Rs 1,000 crore. The project will also have hotels, shopping malls, club houses, service apartments, and accommodation and is being planned as an integrated township. Latest industry reports suggest the dearth of high-end office space in the National Capital Region (NCR). According to a recent report by real estate consultant Knight Frank in Delhi-NCR, office space leasing fell to 3.5 mn sq ft in the first half of 2016, compared to 3.7 mn sq ft in the year-ago period owing to lack of quality supply.
“Research shows that the unsold inventory levels have dropped by seven per cent in the first half of 2016 year-on-year, thus bringing some cheer to developers. Although Mumbai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad have shown positive growth, NCR with its dismal performance still remains a concern,” Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director of Knight Frank India, recently said.
