Dubai: For some Indian developers, demonetisation is not a distraction ... and they have brand new projects in Dubai to keep them busy.
New Delhi-based Adventz Group recently confirmed a high-profile joint venture with Shaikh Juma Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum’s SJM Group for a Dh1 billion tower at the Downtown. And the alliance is definitely not going to be for a one-off venture.
“We had a lot of joint ventures in the last 50 years in India, including a long-standing one with Gillette,” said Saroj Poddar, Chairman of Adventz, a $3 billion (Dh11 billion) enterprise that straddles multiple industries. “For a real estate venture in a foreign country, we felt the way to do it was again through an alliance. The last few hurdles are being cleared before the formal announcement of the Downtown project.
“We have not finalised the number of storeys ... but it will be a tall tower and take three years to complete.
“Real estate in India is fairly stressed at the moment and believe all of the issues will take a year or two to clear.” (Adventz’s real estate subsidiary Zuari Infra is the partner in the JV with SJM Group.)
Not that Adventz is complete newcomer to the UAE or, for that matter, in the region. It is working on a fertiliser project in Ras Al Khaimah, for which it has roped in heavyweight institutional investors from the Gulf. On the real estate side, it is helming three “small” projects in Dubai Sports City. And there is a manufacturing facility in Morocco.
In the longer term, the intention, according to Poddar, is Dubai will have a centralised role in its overseas operations. “For any future real estate activity, we will have the land easily available and will work as per the guidance provided by Shaikh Juma,” said Poddar. “We will use all of the experience we gained in India — real estate now has a share of close to 25-30 per cent in the overall group portfolio.
“And we were never confined to any one city of territory — our townships are spread across the country.”
If for Adventz, the Downtown project represents a big leap into a new market, for another Indian business, real estate in Dubai is a natural progression. It was last September that Shapoorji Pallonji confirmed plans for a high-rise project here (also in Downtown). Over the decades, it had been a permanent fixture in the contracting space.
“We have received permission to start on the main works for the Dh1.3 billion “Imperial Avenue” structure, and the entire construction should take between 30-36 months,” said Jimmy Jehangir Parakh, Consultant for the Group. “Being our first property here, we didn’t hold back on the features and the costs — the lobby itself is 10,000 square feet. This is being built not just with an Indian buyer in mind.
“It’s a fact that we had initially thought of making a real estate commitment in Dubai during 2006-07 ... but there were some abnormal expectations going around at the time and we felt it was best not to get in then.”
But as a contractor, Shapoorji Pallonji has been through quite a few prestige projects in the region, including a palace in Oman for the Sultan and the Corniche Hospital in Abu Dhabi, both in the early 1970s. “In fact, we were the first construction company in India to venture out,” said Parakh. “But in the 150 years we have been operating in India, we have done everything from the footpath (at Bombay Chowpatty) to the Imperial Towers (the tallest high-rise in India at 254 metres when completed in 2010). Plus, there was the Mumbai Central Railway Station.
“But on real estate development, we have been extremely selective through the years. Getting land in Mumbai has never been easy unless it’s released as part of a redevelopment. We need to be assured that a project makes sense — and when we do we stick with it, In fact, we are one of the few not to surrender the land when the IT park boom subsided.
“There’s the one we built in Chennai and an affordable housing project we undertook in Kolkatta featuring 22,000 apartments. We have done it all.”
The official did not disclose whether the group has already started the process of acquiring additional plots in Dubai. “We may have come in later than we anticipated ... but we have a real sense of understanding the property market in Dubai,” said Parakh.
Adventz and Shapoorji Pallonji may not be the only Indian developers to make the trek here. There has been active speculation that others could have similar interests, most likely through joint ventures. In earlier years, the Hiranandani Group helmed a high-rise project at the Dubai Marina. In fact, it was among the first developers from India to get into this market after the freehold possibilities opened up.
Now, with India’s real estate scene in a bit of extreme churn, more developers could be seeking fresh pastures.
