Malabar Builders plans Rs 500-cr township in M'lore

Malabar Builders, the real estate development arm of jewelery retail chain Malabar Gold, is planning to launch its first township project in Mangalore with an investment of Rs 500 crore. The company, with five projects completed and another four in the pipeline, is looking at private equity to raise funds.

The proposed township in Mangalore, spread in an area of 32 acre, would have around 1,000 apartments, said M P Ahammed, chairman of Malabar group of companies. The project is expected to be completed in the next two to three years, he added.

Besides, it is planning 700,000 sft shopping mall in Thiruvananthapuram with an investment of Rs 200 crore and a township at Thrissur, Kerala. It is also developing a shopping m all in Kollam, as part of strengthening its presence in the shopping mall development business. These projects are expected to ready in the next three to four years.

The company has around 1,200 investors supporting the residential and commercial projects and would also rely on equity fund and bank loans to fund the projects. Malabar group holds around 50 per cent share in the company while the rest comes from individual investors including non resident indians and investors from India.

"We are also looking at attracting private equity investment for real estate development," said Ahammed.

Malabar Builders, started operations around three years back, has so far developed five projects, in residential segment apart from several commercial projects including developing outlets for Malabar Gold. The company is also in the process of completing various residential projects in Kerala, apart from the shopping malls and township projects, he added.