Sushil Mohta, Managing Director, Merlin Group of Companies
Sushil Mohta, Managing Director, Merlin Group of Companies, speaks to Construction Week Online about the Real Estate market in Kolkata.
What is the current scenario in Kolkata in regards to construction activities and project developments?
The demand of housing is almost back on track. Prices are back to the pre-recession level or rather have gone up. We are witnessing regular sales in all our projects in all segments. The sales are absolutely normal.
There is demand for office space in Salt Lake which is a good sign. We have constructed an IT Park where 100% leasing is complete. However, in long run we do not see large requirements in Salt Lake. There will be stiff competition with developments coming up in New Town and Rajarhat.
We also see good demand for higher segment or high value property with lifestyle features.
The demand for retail space is also back. However, presently, the demand for office space is a little sluggish.
Is the socio-economic and political situation in the city conducive enough to do business there?
There is apprehension about the political situation but I do not think that will inconvenience the business of real estate. More than the political situation, the worrying factor is the poor state of infrastructure and most important is the ancient laws related to real estate industry.
There is an urgent need of a sweeping change in the legal framework related to the real estate industry. The process of town planning approval and conversion of land from agriculture/industrial to urban/vastu is very time consuming and cumbersome, and needs to be suitably amended. If these changes are not affected, the real estate prices will rise to abnormal levels.
What are the potential growth sectors in Kolkata?
The potential growth sector is in the existing Metro Route as well as proposed East and West Metro Routes. There will be growth on the National Highways like NH2, NH6 and 24 Parganas (South).
What are the major projects that you are implementing in the city currently?
We are developing ACROPOLIS, a Stadium-cum-Commercial Project in joint venture with KMDA on RB Connector near EM Bypass and Merlin Greens (Phase III), a leisure and hospitality project on Diamond Harbour Road, Kolkata. We have also completed Merlin Cambridge, a super luxury 24-storeyed tower on Prince Anwar Shah Road.
In middle income group, we are completing Merlin Warden Lakeview, a 400,000 sq. ft. Project; Merlin Regency, a 200,000 sq. ft. project; and Merlin North Star, a 100,000 sq. ft. Project; Merlin Jabakusum, a 100,000 sq. ft. project.
We have two affordable housing projects under construction namely Merlin Uttara, a 400,000 sq. ft. project at Uttarpara, Konnagar and Merlin Trinoyoni, a 200,000 sq. ft. project at Behala. We are also developing Merlin Matrix, a 65,000 sq. feet IT Project at Sector V.
How the real estate market is expected to perform in coming years?
Overall reality market should be good. The prices are at realistic levels. Unfortunately, the prices of land have started increasing again. This will result in increase of price of constructed area. I can see the growth in housing for all segments and retail space in coming years.
What are the other major big infra projects that are under implementation in the city?
Major infrastructure projects by the Government are the East and West Metro Project, Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) on EM Bypass, Flyover at Paramo Island/Park Street Connector, Water Supply System in a number of municipalities, upgradation of the existing airport. These are some of infrastructure projects that are under implementation by the Government/Government Agencies.
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