Jaypee Infratech to invest Rs 6,000 cr to finish 20,000 homes in 3 years

Suraksha Group-controlled Jaypee Infratech on Thursday said it will invest around Rs 6,000 crore over the next three years to complete stalled housing projects, comprising 20,000 units, and assured homebuyers that it would adhere to the deadline promised in the approved resolution plan.

In June last year, Mumbai-based Suraksha Group took control of Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL) by constituting a three-member board. Sudhir V Valia, promoter of Suraksha Group, was appointed as a non-executive director on the JIL board.

The takeover followed the insolvency appellate tribunal NCLAT decision on May 24 last year, upholding Suraksha Group's bid to acquire JIL. The NCLAT had directed Suraksha Group to pay an additional Rs 1,334 crore to Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) as farmers' compensation.

In a press conference held at Noida, JIL CEO Abhijit Gohil said, "We want to assure homebuyers that we will abide by whatever timeline we have committed in the resolution plan".

JIL has to complete around 20,000 homes in 40 months, starting from August 2024.

Gohil said the company also held a webinar on Thursday morning to give an update to homebuyers about the progress made in the last 10 months after the takeover of JIL by the Suraksha Group. Around 800 homebuyers participated in the webinar.

JIL has to complete 159 towers comprising 16,500 units in Wishtown township at Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Out of these 159 towers, the company has to do only finishing work in 62 towers. In the remaining 97 towers, a lot of construction work is left.

More than 20 contractors have been awarded work to complete these projects. Around 3,200 labourers are working on the sites, and the numbers would go up gradually, the CEO said.

Gohil said the company has already obtained occupation certificates (OCs) for 22 towers, and the handover process has started. For another 12 towers, the OCs have been applied and the company will apply for OCs in 18 towers in early June.

Asked about the investment, JIL's Executive Director Jash Panchamia said the total construction cost is estimated at around Rs 6,000 crore.

He said the company has a credit line of Rs 3,000 crore to meet the construction cost.

Panchamia said the company's cash flow position is healthy. It has around Rs 400 crore of revenue from the toll of Yamuna Expressway that connects Greater Noida to Agra. The company also has receivables from the sold units.

That apart, he said the JIL has around 1,100 unsold homes in Wishtown township, which will be launched in the next 3 months.

JIL has received re-validation of RERA registration for seven stalled real estate projects, comprising more than 10,000 units, in Delhi-NCR. This will enable the company to expedite construction work and give possession of properties to aggrieved homebuyers.

It hopes to get RERA for 6 more projects soon.

The Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against JIL began in August 2017, initiated by the IDBI Bank-led consortium.

On March 7, 2023, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the bid from Suraksha Group to buy JIL. In May 2024, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) approved the resolution of Suraksha Group.

After taking control of the JIL, Suraksha Group infused Rs 125 crore funds as promised in the resolution plan.

In its final resolution plan, Suraksha Group offered to bankers more than 2,500 acres of land and nearly Rs 1,300 crore by way of issuing non-convertible debentures.

The NCLAT had directed Suraksha Group to pay an additional Rs 1,334 crore to Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) as farmers' compensation. The authority has filed a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking more funds for farmers' compensation.

Lenders of Jaypee Infratech had submitted a claim of Rs 9,783 crore.