Plans residential project in Ahmedabad.
After logging in 'Mindspace', Gujarat's first operational IT special economic zone (SEZ), K Raheja Corp have bigger plans for the state. It has already bought two 100 acre parcels of land in Vadodara where it plans to set up two more IT-ITeS SEZs besides brewing plans to develop a mega-residential project in Ahmedabad.
Talking at the sidelines of inaugurating the first unit at Mindspace Gandhinagar-Ahmedabad, Vinod Rohira, director, K Raheja Corp, said "We already have the land in possession in two locations in Vadodara and plan to develop two IT SEZs there in the near future". Rohira did not give out investment details. However, he added that the cost of developing Mindspace near Ahmedabad has been around Rs 2000 per square feet of office space apart from infrastructure cost. Rahejas would develop around four to five million square feet of office space in Mindspace. It has already developed five lakh square feet of space at the SEZ and laid foundation for another five lakh square feet. Mindspace is coming up over around 100 acre land with 66 acres for the IT-ITeS SEZ and the remaining for developing apartments, hotels, retail establishments, cafeterias, gymnasiums and other leisure offerings.
Besides, Raheja's are also planning to develop a residential project in and around Ahmedabad that will have mainly bungalows and villas. Rohira did not want to give out a potential location until the company had the land in possession. "We build five million square feet of residential space every year, and we take care to see that we build when there is a take-away in the market and not just for an investor base". This would be the Group's first residential project in Gujarat.
Gujarat indeed is an attractive destination for IT-ITeS companies as it is one of the most cost-effective destinations, Rohira feels. "For a company, the real estate cost in such a project is around only two to three per cent, while human resource costs constitute nearly 60 per cent. Attrition is the major issue for a company that makes significant investments in training", he explained.
Rahejas expect to complete leasing out space at Mindspace Gandhinagar-Ahmedabad within the next two years. They have developed around 20 million square feet office space at the seven Mindspaces across the country.
