Whitefield back in business

Whitefield, on the outskirts of Bangalore, is expected to witness hectic leasing activity over the next two quarters as it is being evaluated by corporates to house their IT, ITeS and, their research and development (R&D) operations owing to low costs and improved accessibility.

According to international property consultants, Cushman & Wakefield's Bangalore Office Snapshot for May, Whitefield is the only location in the country today that can offer ample ready office space for occupation.

The vacancy rate at Whilefield is around 15-20 per cent whereas the average estimated vacancy rate across all micro markets in the city is less than 5 per cent.

In Bangalore, peripheral locations like Whitefield, Outer Ring Road and Electronic City accounted for approximately 90 per cent of the total approximately 1.5 million square feet of office space absorption that took place in the first quarter (Q1) of 2007. This robust trend is expected to continue through the year.

Some of the key leasing transactions in April/May were RMZ Cent "� Standard Chartered 1.8 lakh sq ft, RMZ Centennial -"� SAP Labs 2.04 lakh sq ft; RMZ Millennia"� Acciona Energy 67,000 sq ft and RMZ Infinity"� Axa 52,000 sq ft.