Ashiana to expand affordable housing project in Gujarat

Company looking to either buy its own land or enter into joint venture with land owners in state

Even as it nears the launch of its first affordable housing project in Gujarat at Halol near Vadodara, New Delhi-based real estate player Ashiana Housing Limited is already planning to expand its presence in the state.  The company is already exploring and researching possibilities for similar project in other cities like Ahmedabad, Surat and Rajkot.

"We see good potential in other cities of Gujarat. We firmly believe Gujarat has potential to absorb affordable housing and we plan to expand in the state," said Sunit Gandhi, vice president, Ashiana Housing Limited.

The company is looking to either buy its own land or enter into joint venture with land owners in the state.  "The areas that we look at are near industrial belt.  We do not come into the heart of city because we don't get the project size. The average project size we are looking at in Gujarat is over 10 acres," Gandhi added.

For an average 1050 sq ft of unit, Ashiana Housing is looking to price the product at sub Rs 20 lakh. As for the Halol project, the company is awaiting government approval before it could officially launch the first phase of affordable housing units. Located over 60 kms from Vadodara, the low-rise affordable housing project will be developed by Ashiana with over 500 units spread across 10.65 acres. The company will be incurring a project cost of Rs 100 crore for the same. Though Ashiana Housing has also developed luxurious residential properties in Lavasa near Pune, the company will focus on affordable houses located on industrial belts in Gujarat, said Gandhi.

The tenure of the Halol project has been fixed at 3-4 years with the first phase of over 100 units to be launched in roughly 18-20 months.  By the current fiscal end, the company plans to roll out 2500-odd units.

Meanwhile, having pegged a turnover of Rs 249 crore in the fiscal 2012-13, Ashiana Housing expects to garner a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30 per cent.