NEW DELHI, MAR 13 : Increasing the processing area in multi-services Special Economic Zones (SEZ) from 35% to 50% of their total area as well as directly giving formal approval to those proposals with land are some of the amendments in the SEZ Rules which would be notified by the Centre this week.

At present, even those SEZ proposals with land free of any legal hassles, would have to get in-principle nod by the Board of Approval before formal approval.

Officials said the commerce ministry had already had discussions regarding the amendments with the revenue department and would notify it this week itself.

Earlier, multi-services SEZs (minimum area of 100-hectare each) were treated on a par with huge multi-product SEZs (minimum area of 1,000 hectares) and were required to keep aside only 35% of their total area as processing area, housing units which would contribute to exports. Remaining area, called the non-processing area, would have social amenities, including housing.

Only one multi-services SEZ (Uppal Developer Pvt Ltd’s 106-hectare SEZ in Gurgaon) has so far been notified.

Real estate investment trusts don’t exist in India, but investing in real estate there shows great potential, according to executives at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

As a result, the Securities and Exchange Board of India is nearing regulatory clearance for something like a REIT, called a real estate mutual fund, that was proposed in June 2006. Real estate funds would fall under India’s mutual fund regulation, be listed on the stock exchanges and have to report net asset values daily, Ms. Jain said.

Real estate funds would provide foreigners the opportunity to invest directly in properties and mortgage-backed securities, as well as the equity shares, bonds and debentures of companies that developed property in the country, she said.

“Indian and overseas players have already raised close to $1 billion worth of real estate funds for investment through [real estate] but await regulatory clearance,” Ms. Jain said.

Real estate investors worried by corrections in property prices can afford to breathe easy. If a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) survey on property prices is to be believed, prices will rise by 10-15 per cent over the next 4-6 months across tier I, II and III cities. The survey adds that the correction of up to 10-15 percent that has taken place in the overheated segments of the market was inevitable.

“The correction in real estate prices is likely to be short-lived and confined to some over-heated locations, where supply is more than demand. With strong economic growth constantly generating new buyers, the upward trend in prices will resume over the next four to six months,” says the report compiled by the industry association.

Areas like Whitefield in Bangalore, and Mohali and Ludhiana in Punjab have in recent times seen a 15-20 per cent drop in property prices. The Gurgaon market has been stable for the past six months.

“Demand has been flat in Gurgaon for the past six months. High home loan rates and stock market volatility have led to consumers postponing their buying decisions,” said Santosh Kumar, COO, Trammell Crow Meghraj, a real estate consultancy firm that participated in the survey.

2.24 Acres (8960 sq meters) Hotel Site available for sale in Gurgaon, India.

Area allowed for construction: 1,71,000 sq fts approx

License: Approved 5 Star Sites on 60 m wide Road

Frontage : 350 feets

Land Shape : L Type

Retail chain Lifestyle has chalked out a three-year plan to expand its presence in India by opening 35 stores and clock a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore.

Lifestyle International, the Indian arm of the Dubai-based Landmark Group, is now present in seven Indian cities including Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Pune.

Kabir Lumba, executive director, Lifestyle International, said at the media preview of the store in Pune that the company will be considering opening multiple stores in major metros while increasing the reach to mini-metro and tier-I and tier-II cities.

Lifestyle offers five categories of merchandise - apparel, shoes, travel accessories, infant wear and infant basics - and also offers home furniture under a separate brand Home Centre.

“We are planning to invest about Rs 140 crore for expansion, and are aiming at sales of Rs 1,000 crore by the third year,” Lumba said.

NEW DELHI: Union Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister T.R. Baalu and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda opened to traffic new flyovers at IFFCO Crossing and South City junction on National Highway-8 in Gurgaon on Friday.

Mr. Baalu said work on the other flyover at the RTR-Palam intersection was being speeded up and it would be ready by September.

The movement of traffic through IFFCO and South City would benefit more than 100,000 inhabitants on either side of this stretch in Gurgaon and provide a great relief to people travelling through Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, Mr. Baalu added.

The two flyovers on NH-8 are expected to reduce commuting time significantly, providing relief to those travelling daily from Delhi to Gurgaon.

NEW DELHI, MAR 1: Though the Budget did not have anything substantial for the ncr real estate industry, there is one sector that has the developers buoyant - hospitality. Most builders in the Delhi NCR are now keen on entering the hotel industry after the finance minister announced a five-year income tax holiday for two, three or four-star hotels. However, another spin-off effect would be on the land prices of hotel sites - they are bound to go up as a result of the announcement.

Says Kamal Taneja, MD, TDI, “Now, we will also look into the possibility of coming up with such hotels in the region. Hence, it is a positive step for us.”

The tax holiday also includes convention centres with a seating capacity of not less than 3,000. However, the Budget lays down that the hotels should be completed and begin operations in the National Capital Territory of Delhi or in the adjacent districts of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad or Gautam Budh Nagar during the period starting from April 1, 2007 and ending March 31, 2010.

Says Sanjeev Aeren, MD, AEZ Group, “The Delhi NCR seems to have been the only region that seems to have benefitted from the Budget, courtesy the Commonwealth Games. This will help in making Delhi a world-class city and give a major boost to the hospitality industry, encouraging developers to foray into this sector in a big way.”