Hyderabad: In a vote of confidence for the growth potential of Hyderabad, the US-based real estate major Tishman Speyer said that it will soon begin construction at its 100-acre long-overdue Tellapur project in the city. The announcement comes despite several bearish predications about the city’s real estate market after the formation of Telangana state.
“Indian are known for their quality work... This city has a bright future... We are optimistic after the changes that happened in the last 60 days... We will shortly start work on Tellapur township project,” Tishman Speyer chairman Jerry Speyer said after launching the phase 2.2 of WaveRock, an IT park at Gachibowli.
Though Mr Speyer refused reveal the project cost, experts put the figure at Rs 3,500 crore. “The project initially was Rs 8,000 crore when it was spread over 400 acres. But after it was slashed to 100 acres, the project could cost around Rs 3,500 crore. There is also a possibity of Tishman taking up construction for 400 acres as the chief minister expressed his support for the project,” said Mr Veerababu, office head for Hyderabad at Cushman & Wakefield. The construction on 100-acre project could be completed in 10 to 12 years.
On his part, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao assured his support for the Tellapur project and wished for its successful completion.
Initiated in 2007, the Tellapur project had got delayed due to a variety of causes including global slowdown that hit the project just a year after it was announced and the political crisis in the state since 2009.
The project is being built by a joint venture firm consisting of Tishman and ICICI Ventures (holding 37 per cent each) and NCC Ltd (26 per cent stake).
At the time of announcement, the developers pegged the total project cost at nearly Rs 8,000 crore the biggest-ever investment in Hyderabad.
In 2010, the government slashed the project area to 100 acres from the earlier 400 acres. The construction, however, could not be taken up because of political uncertainty and India’s economic slowdown.
According to Mr Y.D. Murthy, senior vice-president (finance) of NCC Ltd, the construction at the project will begin only after a formal clearance from the Telangana government. “The project was initially proposed for 400 acres, but later it was slashed to 100 acres. So we need to sign a new development agreement with the state government. Only after that, we can begin construction at the site.”
Mr Murthy said the joint venture firm had already paid the required money to the government for the allotment of the land. Asked about the project cost, he added that the costing will done only after the development agreement.
