Forum plans 10 malls for Rs 2,700cr in East

Kolkata-based real estate developer, Forum Projects, has lined up an investment of Rs 2,700 crore for setting up 10 malls in the east.

The malls would introduce a range of formats in the region. Rahul Saraf, promoter of Forum Projects said, all the projects would break ground this financial year and would be complete by early 2010.

The malls in Bengal would be located at Bantala, Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, Rajarhat, Elgin Road and Howrah in Kolkata, as well as Behrampur and Siliguri.

Also, Forum has entered into an understanding with Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company (Jusco), re-engineered out of Tata Steel's town services, for setting up a mixed use city centre project, part of the steel major's centenary year initiatives.

Saraf said, a community centre development spread across 22 acres in Adityaour was also in the offing. In Bhubaneshwar, Forum would do a city centre development in a five-acre plot.

Saraf pointed out that the highlight of his projects would be the launch of new formats.

For instance, the project in Howrah would be a neighbourhood shopping centre while Bantala would have the first outlet mall in the city. At Rajarhat, a regional mega mall was being planned.

Saraf explained, an outlet mall would be a discount mall housing factory outlets of different brands.

With Bantala, Forum would make a foray into the residential space. It would cater to the upper-end segment.

The real estate prices in the residential space were on an upswing. Over the past year, the prices in the premium segment of Rs 1 crore and above had increased by more than 80 per cent while in the mid-segment the appreciation was around 50 per cent.

In Howrah, Forum had tied up with the Silver Spring group to emulate the luxury condominium project in the area. The idea was to tap the affluent traders in Howrah, who were deprived from modern and high-end housing.

Mall and housing projects apart, Saraf has also won a bid for an integrated township project in Rajarhat.