Nirmal Lifestyle mulls $10-bn capex over a decade

The city-based real estate player Nirmal Lifestyle today said it has drawn up a $10 billion (Rs 47,000 crore) investment plan over the next decade.

"We are investing around $10 billion over the next 10 years for our proposed 20 Lifestyle Cities planned by 2020," Nirmal Lifestyle chairman and managing director Dharmesh Jain told PTI on the sidelines of a conference here today.

The realty company is currently engaged in developing townships, residential properties, commercial offices, retail space and hotels in various parts of the country.

The company has finalised plans to develop Lifestyle Cities in Thane, Kalyan, Dombivali and Pune in Maharashtra and Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Jain said, adding it is also developing one of the largest hotel complexes aggregating over 1,000 rooms at Mulund in Mumbai an estimated cost of Rs 1,000 crore.

Jain said the company has no immediate plans to raise capital through a public float as its projects would be financed through internal accruals and finance from consumers. Jain also ruled out a correction in real estate prices in the near future and said rates would remain steady as demand continued to be strong.

Going by the current spurt in demand, the retail space would be in short-supply by 2012-13, he said, and pointed out that retail rentals have already stabilised in the last six months and malls doing well will attract better rentals in the months to come.

Meanwhile, Nirmal Lifestyle today entered into an agreement with Discovery Enterprises International to launch Discovery-branded eco-friendly properties in the country.

The tie-up with Discovery will help the company develop green offices, residential spaces and clubs, which will provide lifestyle, entertainment and education inspired from the tenets of the Discovery Channel.

Under the agreement, Nirmal will have exclusive use of the Discovery brand in the domestic market over the next decade.