Need one-time rollover of potential NPAs in real estate: NAREDCO

National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) President Niranjan Hiranandani on Friday said the government and the central bank should provide one-time rollover of potential non-performing assets (NPA) in the financially stressed real estate sector.

He noted that liquidity crisis is the biggest problem for the sector currently and if addressed properly, the realty sector can achieve robust growth in the coming years.

"In 2008, during the Lehman crisis, the real estate companies pan India were also in difficulty. So we are looking forward to a one-time rollover of potential NPAs ... to be rolled over similar to what happened in 2008," Hiranandani told reporters here.

According to the real estate major, the current liquidity crisis is 50 times more severe than it was during the 2008 crisis.

Talking of the incomplete housing projects in Noida, Hiranandani said that around 50 per cent of the projects in Noida can be completed by creating a stressed fund with an initial corpus of Rs 2,000 crore.

"At least 50 per cent of the projects in Noida are all viable for completion. Most of these projects lack liquidity. Half of the projects can be completed with what I call stressed funds," he said.

Welcoming the recent GST rate cut on under-construction and affordable properties, he said that the move should be complemented with rationalising stamp duty and the tax rates on raw materials such as cement.

--IANS

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