DLF to pump in Rs 450 cr in Lucknow projects

Studio apartment, township projects estimated at Rs 340 crore and Rs 550 crore respectively

DLF, the country’s largest real estate company, has lined up investments worth Rs 450 crore in housing and township projects underway in Lucknow, company sources said.

The studio apartment and township projects are estimated at Rs 340 crore and Rs 550 crore, respectively.

The company had already invested nearly Rs 140 crore in the studio apartment project coming up in the posh Gomti Nagar area of Lucknow.

In its residential township project named Gardencity, spead over 250 acres on the Rae Bareli road, DLF had invested Rs 350 crore and Rs 200 crore more investment would be made towards its fructification.

DLF Senior Vice-President Rajeev Singh told Business Standard: “In Gardencity project, we have given bank guarantee of Rs 70 crore to the Uttar Pradesh Housing and Development Board with regards to the construction of 1,250 housing units for the weaker sections of society.”

The company was likely to commence handing over possessions of plots in the township project in another six months, DLF Executive Director Ananta Singh Raghuvanshi informed.

Meanwhile, Rajeev Singh said the recent slowdown in economy and the tightening of home loan norms by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would only impact the segment of buyers who invest in housing properties and are not actual buyers.

On September 3, the central bank had asked all banks to link disbursal of home loans to stages of construction to protect the interests of buyers and control any adverse consequences of “innovative” housing finance schemes. This is likely to impact home loan seekers and in turn affect housing projects.

“The migration of people from rural to urban centres in search of jobs will continue in future and this would create demand for new houses,” he added.