Honeywell announced that it will establish a new technology center in Gurgaon to expand its global research capabilities in refining, petrochemical and other technologies in order to better serve customers in the region.

The company will invest $34 million to establish the 400,000 sq ft center at an existing Honeywell-owned property. The center will primarily house pilot plants for developing and demonstrating refining and petrochemical process technology developed by UOP, a Honeywell subsidiary that is part of Honeywell’s Specialty Materials business group.

The center will also include labs for process and applications development for other specialty materials technology areas, including fluorine products and nylon materials. The center is expected to employ 100 within five years.

More : ciol.com

Honeywell (NYSE: HON) announced today that it will establish a new technology center in Gurgaon, India, to expand its global research capabilities in refining, petrochemical and other technologies in order to better serve customers in the region.

The company will invest $34 million to establish the 400,000 square-foot center at an existing Honeywell-owned property. The center will primarily house pilot plants for developing and demonstrating refining and petrochemical process technology developed by UOP, a Honeywell subsidiary that is part of Honeywell’s Specialty Materials business group.

The center will also include labs for process and applications development for other Specialty Materials technology areas, including fluorine products and nylon materials. The center is expected to employ 100 within five years.

More : prnewswire.com

Kota mayoral hopeful and Congress candidate Ratna Jain is believed to be the richest to contest for the this category for the municipal corporations in the state.

With cash and property estimated at Rs 2.70 crore, 47-year-old Ratna Jain has landed property, a house-cum-nursing home and cash in about 18 separate accounts amounting to about Rs 12 lakh. Her landed property includes five agricultural plots besides three other plots in urban areas. Her wealth in gold and silver amounts to more than Rs 12 lakh.

In second place, though many rungs off her, is the BJP candidate Prasan Chand vying for the mayor’s post for Jodhpur. Chands wealth is estimated at Rs 1.09 crore. He has two plots of agricultural land estimated at Rs 11 lakh, a house worth Rs 50 lakhs, Rs 15 lakh worth of gold and the rest in stocks and mutual funds.

More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

According to a Projects Today report, VLCC, the beauty and wellness company is developing a residential ‘medical spa’ in Gurgaon, Haryana, at an investment of around Rs 100 crore. VLCC has acquired a 40-acre property on the Gurgaon-Sohna highway for its first centre and has tied up with a Miami-based medical spa for R&D and technical support. The spa is likely to start its operations by March 2010.

The centre is expected to have 60 villas and 40 rooms. The spa will engage services of doctors, nutritionists, cosmetologists and physiotherapists to help patients with different lifestyle diseases manage their health.

More : travelbizmonitor.com

The Grand Arch Gurgaon is one of the largest real estate giants in the country. One of the latest projects from their stable is the Ireo city. This is an integrated township which will have schools, hospitals, parks, service apartments and The Grand Arch is a part of this planned township. This offers a great view of the Aravali range of mountains. This is located at the place where Sector 58 meets the Golf Course road.

The new residential projects of the Grand Arch are spread over an area of 20 acres. The IREO Grand Arch has a very different style of architecture and the technology used is very state of the art. The apartments will create a landmark in the real estate in providing convenience, comfort and convenience to the residents.

IRO Original Booking Gurgaon can be done and the apartments made are great. They have four side open apartments and have many floor plans. They are villa like apartments and have high ceilings. The IREO Grand Arch Residential Property has many recreational facilities and a club house for the residents. The sports centre has many sports which provide a healthy lifestyle and a recreational activity for the families who stay there.

More : pr-inside.com

Leasing in Mumbai’s Grade A office market gained momentum in 3Q09, primarily due to fresh opportunistic demand from occupiers aiming at securing leases at current rationalised rental prices. The market has also witnessed increased interest from occupiers interested in purchasing real estate, rather than leasing space. The city witnessed net absorption of about 231,860 sq ft (21,541 sq m) in operational buildings in the CBD and SBD.

The overall vacancy rate declined to 7% in 3Q09 from 8% in 2Q09. However, there were no notable signs of a recovery in demand from the IT/ITES sector. On the issue of supply , Mumbai is expected to witness high vacancy levels in the near future due to the completion of projects with poor pre-leasing . In terms of asset pricing, Mumbai’s commercial real estate market is stabilising. Rental declines continued to moderate in 3Q09, correcting between 3-6 % across the prime micro-markets . Capital values also declined, albeit at a slower rate compared to rentals.

In the retail segment, only a few negotiations are being realised as lease transactions. The city’s retail market achieved net absorption of about 341,582 sq ft (31,734 sq m) in 3Q09 on the back of new supply. However, net absorption failed to match supply additions of 600,000 sq ft (55,742 sq m) and the overall vacancy rate rose to 18.1% in 3Q09 from 16.7% in 2Q09. The decline in retail rentals across Mumbai has slowed in 3Q09, with the city witnessing a q-o-q rental correction in the range of 4-7 %. The revenue-sharing model is being widely accepted by developers in Mumbai who offered resistance earlier.

More : economictimes.indiatimes.com

Of every 10 new malls, six to seven opt for this model, according to C&W With slowdown seemingly slipping away from sight, an increasing number of mall developers and retailers are now opting for rental revenue sharing model. As vacancy levels and rentals continue to dip especially in the metros, developers are banking on this ‘performance based sharing’ scheme to make up for the damages.

According to industry experts, the model comprises retailers sharing a percentage of their sales with real estate developers as a way of sharing risks. The move to adopt such a model is seen to be triggered by low footfalls that has been the bane of retailers since some time as well as lower rentals which has been troubling real estate developers during the slowdown.

As far as the revenue sharing ratio is concerned, industry players say, factors like format, market scenario, clients and type of properties, among other things come into play. “We have been opting for revenue sharing model with retailers in some of our properties. However, the ratio is dependent on several factors including rentals, kind of market, economic scenario, type of client, and type of properties, among other things. For us, the rentals for retailers vary from anywhere between Rs 10 per sq ft per day and Rs 800 per sq ft per day,” said YK Tyagi, executive director at DLF.

More : business-standard.com

DLF Ltd., Indias biggest developer, sees no danger of a housing bubble, a week after the central bank increased efforts to curb home prices.

People are now secure enough to invest in residential housing as companies have eased up on cutting workers, Rajeev Talwar, executive director at DLF, said in an interview with Bloomberg-UTV. There is no danger of a price bubble, or prices increasing or galloping as they did in 2005, 06, 07.

Prices in India are lagging behind gains in Asia after developers revived stalled construction projects and companies resumed hiring. India’s central bank on Oct. 27 ordered lenders to set aside funds to cover defaults on loans to property companies, joining authorities in Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore in trying to rein in prices.

More : bloomberg.com

Seasons Group, which owns and manages one of the leading catering services, speciality restaurants and night clubs in North India, has commenced operations of its first hotel venture- Seasons Hotel at Tarudhan Valley Golf Homes in Manesar, Gurgaon. Situated 40 kms from Indira Gandhi International Airport, the hotel is surrounded by a nine-hole Golf Course designed by Graham Cooke, and private villas and Studio apartments. The opening of the property was announced recently at a function in the Club House of the property by Sanjay Khullar, Chairman, Seasons Group; and Rainer Stoll, Managing Director, Seasons Hotel.

Since its soft launch in July this year, has hosted almost nine corporate conferences and meetings. Apart from the state-of-the-art Boardroom (Kramer Hall) with 22-25 pax capacity, the hotel also has two conference/meeting venues – Alexandrine Hall, and Rosellas Hall – with capacity varying from 60 to 120 pax. The garden adjacent to the meeting space could also be used for banqueting.

Part of Tarudhan Valley Golf Resort, Seasons Hotel has 56 well-appointed rooms and suites with state-of-the art meeting and conferencing facilities in it. The premium and superior rooms, as well as executive suites are designed by Arcop Associates. The hotel also offers variety of entertainment options like table tennis room, lawn tennis court, badminton court, billiards etc. The hotel is also in the process of upgrading the children play area in the hotel for which it is in the process of engaging a consultant from Thailand. The hotel has two swimming pools for in house guests. It can also arrange adventure activities including hot air ballooning and many more on demand.

More : hospitalitybizindia.com

The continuing blaze at the Indian Oil Corporation fuel depot in Sitapura has not only destroyed property worth crores of rupees, but displaced and rendered many jobless.

The damages may gradually be repaired, the big question is how much time it will take the situation to normalise and thousands of people, especially labourers, who eke out a living out of this industrial area will get their life back on track. For these workers it is a question of survival while some think of migration, others pray for the situation to normalise fast.

The area has been cordoned off and people have been evacuated. At present about 4,000 people were accommodated in government schools and dharmashalas. Since the fire erupted on Thursday evening, all business activity near the oil depot has come to a stand still.

More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com