IL&FS arm plans more low cost clusters

"At present, we are scouting for suitable locations in West Bengal where we can set up these housing projects. While we have firmed up our plan for Singur for the budget housing project, the second location could be Siliguri or Madhyamgram or any other location that we find suitable", a senior official of IL&FS IDC told Business Standard.

These housing projects would be developed by IL&FS IDC through a 50:50 joint venture (JV) with Kolkata-based Canopy Projects Limited.

The paid-up capital of the JV company, formed in April 2007, is around Rs 45 crore.

Each of these housing projects, comprising 600-700 dwelling units, will be set up on a 5-10 acre plot.

Investment for each would be Rs 20-25 crore.

The JV company expects to acquire land soon for these projects and the construction work is expected to take off by September this year.

Both the housing projects are scheduled to be commissioned within two years.

Apart from the dwelling units, the JV company is also exploring the possibility of setting up basic community amenities like schools and hospitals as a part of these housing projects.

IL&FS IDC had earlier announced that it would develop a low cost housing project about 6 km from Rajarhat in Kolkata through a JV which it has forged with Canopy Projects Limited.

The Kolkata project, consisting of 10,500 dwelling units, was being taken up on a 100-acre plot and construction cost would be around Rs 450 crore.

Out of the 100 acres of land, 25 acres had been acquired while the remaining 75 acres were expected to be acquired by June this year.

This project would be completed in three phases, with construction of the first phase of 3,500 units scheduled for completion by March 2010.