Suburb king to focus on Capital

DLF, the company which is largely responsible for developing the satellite city of Gurgaon, near Delhi, is now betting big on the capital, where it plans to invest close to $6 billion (Rs 24,000 crore) in various projects in the next few years.

It is understood that the realty company is also in the process of acquiring 100 acres in Najafgarh. Sources said the land was not being acquired from a company, but from various individual sellers, and would be used for developing a mixture of residential, retail and commercial properties.

While DLF has built colonies such as South Extension and Greater Kailash in Delhi, it has been concentrating on Gurgaon since the 1980s.

The company's intention to return to the capital became clear when it started buying land in auctions held by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) a few years ago.

DLF has also bought land privately, as in prime Chanakyapuri, where it purchased 23 acres from Keventers. The land will be used to develop super luxury apartments that are expected to start from upwards of Rs 10 crore. This would rival posh addresses such as Golf Links and Sunder Nagar.

The company is also building 60 super luxury flats at Greater Kailash II. Through its "strictly-by-invitation" policy, DLF has launched 5,000 sq ft apartments priced at Rs 8 crore, which translates into Rs 15,000 a sq ft.

Some of DLF's other key projects in the capital include a Rs 6,000 crore convention and exhibition centre at Dwarka that DLF bagged from the DDA recently.

The company will also develop a commercial building spread across 12 million sq ft on upmarket Minto Road. The contract has been given by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and DLF will get to keep 6 million square feet. The projected investment for this project is Rs 700 crore.

DLF is also constructing two malls (one being the keenly awaited luxury mall christened Emporio) at Vasant Kunj, two commercial towers at Jasola (being pegged as the future central business district in Delhi) and malls in Shalimar Bagh, Saket and Mayur Vihar.