Strategic Initiatives
Om Infraprojects future in the real estate business will be driven by the following developments:
Strategic Alliances
Om Infraprojects intends to purchase huge pockets of land and establish strategic alliances with other real estate developers to construct properties. Only in the case of big-ticket real estate projects, Om Infrastructure would develop the real estate projects, thereby maximising its profitability and ensuring predictability of cash flows.
Pan India Presence
The company intends to enter into strategic joint ventures with other developers in order to attain a pan-India presence into other promising cities such as Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Noida, Jaipur, Nagpur, Kota, Kolkata and Mumbai.
Focus on Mumbai
From the abovementioned list of focus cities, the company has actively begun work in Mumbai as currently the demand for quality residential properties in Mumbai continues to exceed its supply which has resulted in steep price escalations on both outright purchases and rental premises. Mumbai's residential sector has witnessed the sharpest price increase on outright purchases during 2005 (25-50 per cent over the previous year).
Lucrative Pockets
Within Mumbai, Om Infrastructure has chosen to focus on areas that offer visibility and also maximise returns such as Bandra and on the outskirts at Navi Mumbai.
Within Mumbai, Bandra is considered as the queen of the suburbs as it is bestowed with a natural shoreline, rolling hillocks and has a lively mix of lifestyle bungalows, cottages and buildings dotting the seashore, which has attracted the crème-de-la-crème of the society. In addition to this, with the emergence of the suburban business district centre at Bandra-Kurla complex in close proximity, properties in Bandra command a premium, with prices ranging from Rs 10000-20000 per sq ft. The prices are further fuelled by the limited availability of free land for construction in Bandra and construction activities mainly revolve around reconstruction of old residential properties.
However, like many other suburban areas across Mumbai, Bandra also has its share of slums and once such area is the Bandra Reclamation center. As a part of the Maharashtra Government's plan to transform Mumbai into an international megapolis, it has initiated projects with the help of private builders to rehabilitate slum dwellers and redevelop the prime areas in the city. This has provided an opportunity to Om Infrastructure which has participated in a similar redevelopment project (of the Maharashtra Housing and Development Authorities - MHADA) at Bandra Reclamation in Mumbai.
Focus on Navi Mumbai
The development of Navi Mumbai, the satellite twin of the city of Mumbai was aimed at decongesting Mumbai in terms of both population and commercial activities by shifting industries, market and office activities to make the new city sustainable physically, economically and environmentally. Navi Mumbai today is one of the largest planned new cities in the world with growth factors like scalability, human resource availability, proximity to residential locations, robust telecom connectivity and quality physical infrastructure at comparatively competitive prices making it an attractive residential and commercial destination. OM Infraprojects and its group companies possess a huge land bank in Navi Mumbai on which construction has already commenced.
The company's future projects include
Building residential apartments at Bandra, Mumbai. This MHADA project is in parternship with Om Metals Consortium with Om Infrastructure holding a 35 per cent stake in the project. Other developmental partners in this project are Subhash Projects & Marketing Limited, Morya Housing and Mahima Developers. This multi-storied residential project is estimated to attract a project ocst of Rs 3000 mn and is likely to generate revenues of nearly two folds the next 3-4 years.
Development of an IT Park on 50 acres of land in Navi Mumbai, in a joint venture with B. Raheja Builders and in collaboration with another group company, Wellwisher Construction & Finance Pvt. Ltd. The revenues for this project are likely to accrue from FY 06-07.
Building of shopping malls and multiplexes in Navi Mumbai (on land possessed by Wellwisher Construction & Finance Pvt. Limited):
- City Centre in Vashi, built on an area of 7569 sq mt., the project cost for the same is Rs 700 mn and is likely to be operational by October 2006.
- Palm Beach Galleria in Vashi, on an area spread across 7982 sq mt. in partnership with B. Raheja Group. The project cost is estimated at Rs 700 mn and likely to be operational by October 2006.
- Om Arcade at Turbhe, Navi Mumbai on 4500 sq mt. of land, with an estimated project cost of Rs 450 mn, to be operational by May 2007.
Thus, with the resources and expertise to manage business growth and expand its presence across sectors, embark on key projects in prime locations, forge collaborative partnerships, Om Infraprojects is in a position to augment the company's total revenue by almost five-fold in a span of five years.