9. Matheran Realty and Gopi Resorts - Overview
Building a new township with low-cost housing near mumbai
| Amount committed £16.4m |
| Amount invested to date £12.7m |
| Current ownership stake 63% - Matheran Realty Pvt Ltd 32.25% - GOPI Resort Pvt Ltd (MRPL Subsidiary) |
| Sector Urban Development |
| Location Mumbai Region, Maharashtra, West India |
| Date investment announced 31 July 2007 |
| Progress to date Construction and pre-sales phase |
The Eredene Group has a 63% stake in Matheran Realty Private Limited (“MRPL”), a Mumbai-based development company which is building affordable housing in India.
Construction is under way at MRPL's first low-cost housing development at Tanaji Malusare City, Karjat, near Mumbai, where a cluster of 10 apartment blocks is sheduled for completion in time for residents to move in during 2010. Over 3,000 apartments are being built in the first phase of which more than 80% have been pre-sold.(www.tmcity.in)
In total, Eredene has committed up to INR 1,312m (£16.4m) with the final equity stake dependent on whether Eredene exercises all its options to invest further tranches and on whether MRPL achieves land acquisition milestones.
Over the next 8-10 years, MRPL plans the phased acquisition of land to build low-cost residential units at a number of suburban sites on or close to the Mumbai railway network. Such sites will be within commuting distance of Mumbai to meet the soaring demand for affordable housing from the city’s increasingly prosperous blue collar workforce. Surveys have identified a critical shortage of affordable housing for the estimated 30% of Mumbai’s 18 million people who earn £1,250 per annum or less.
Significant road and rail improvement projects are expected in and around Mumbai over the next five years making the selected locations more attractive as residential areas. These projects include the new international airport at Panvel and the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Rail Link, which will reduce the commuting time from central Mumbai to Mumbai’s Southern and Eastern suburbs by approximately half in some locations.
The Karjat township is master-planned by SKM Australia and is being constructed by Matheran Realty's subsidiary Gopi Resorts. Work is taking place on about 80 acres with 5.7 million square feet of residential buildings, retail and commercial units planned. The project also includes provision of associated infrastructure for the township, including internal roads, water and sewage treatment plants, streeet lighting, and water and electricity supply.