Alpha G:Corp is recognised for quality real estate development projects. Dr. Prodipta Sen, Executive Director, Marketing, Corporate Affairs & Retail, Alpha G:Corp, talks about the company’s excellence in the context of present scenario and demands of the end users.
The well-known name in real estate, Alpha G:Corp, has earned fame for developing landmark city centre projects, integrated townships, commercial & residential projects, spread across the country. These include developments in Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Delhi NCR, Fatehabad, Gurgaon, Goa, Karnal, Jaipur, Ludhiana, Meerut, and the group is also actively eyeing other cities in Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Its completed developments and upcoming projects encompass an area of more than 70 million sq ft. “We as a company are being approached by people who own land that they would want us to develop under the REAM model. Alpha G:Corp’s Real Estate Asset Management (REAM) model of development and management is based on the best business models practised globally and have mandatory feasibility study before the design stage, all government permissions and licenses, concept development, marketing, sales, construction and handing over process with post-sales or lease service,” informs Dr. Prodipta Sen, Executive Director, Marketing, Corporate Affairs & Retail, Alpha G:Corp. Importantly, each project undertaken by Alpha G:Corp has a designated escrow bank account, and funds received from buyers go directly to the respective project’s exclusive account. Alpha G:Corp’s global, professional practices were major points for consideration by Morgan Stanley before investing in the company in 2006.
The projects
In a short span of eight years, Alpha G:Corp has undertaken and developed comprehensive professional solutions for real estate developments across all industry verticals - Residential, Commercial, Retail and Township. “Our first premium eco-friendly 10-acre residential habitat, GurgaonOne, Sector 22 was fully sold even before the excavation was carried out and the handover of possession to actual owners was successfully completed in 2008. Our state-of-the-art commercial project, Golf View Corporate Towers B, was leased to Ernst & Young in a 9 year lease deal for their corporate office in India in April 2007. Our mega retail and entertainment development, AlphaOne, Amritsar had its grand launch on March 05, 2010 for the people of Punjab. The biggest retail, lifestyle and entertainment destination centre of Punjab has the best mix of international, national and regional brands available anywhere,” says Dr. Sen.
Alpha G:Corp’s post-modern, eco-friendly and 306 acres fully integrated township, Alpha International City, is loacated at HUDA Sectors 28 & 29, Karnal on NH-1. The first phase of Rs 1600 crore (US $320 million) is complete and the process of handover to individual buyers is almost complete.
The upcoming projects include AlphaOne, Ahmedabad - a mixed use development, which is located at Vastrapur, adjacent to the Vastrapur Lake, in the city of Ahmedabad. The 1.2 million sq ft (approx) development, of which retail-cum-entertainment occupies 703,000 sq ft, will have an integrated mix of all categories such as hypermarket, multiplex, departmental stores, family entertainment zone, food courts, banqueting, specialty dining and various formats of vanilla retailing and hotel. AlphaOne, Ahmedabad will have its grand launch on September 28, 2011.
Rs 200 crore Alpha International City, Fatehabad is spread over 51 acres of land in the pristine Sector 4, located on NH-10. Alpha G:Corp is the first private developer in Fatehabad to launch an integrated township offering world-class facilities and infrastructure after receiving due licenses and approved master plan from DTCP, Haryana. The integrated township will be ready for handover shortly.
Alpha International City, Amritsar (AICA) is Amritsar’s largest fully integrated township, which is being developed in phases at a cost of Rs 650 crore.
The second phase of Alpha International City, Karnal, has been launched recently. This phase will generate sales revenue of more than Rs 250 crore with a total of 292 plots of 250, 360 and 500 sq yds.
GurgaonOne, an eco-friendly residential habitat, at Sector 84 is a 12.5 acres residential development in Gurgaon, with 670 apartments. It is the larger, path breaking twin project of GurgaonOne, Sector 22. The project will be built at a cost of Rs 400 crore and is adjacent to the 210 meter-wide upcoming expressway that will connect Dwarka with Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. Riding high on investors’ confidence, the first phase of GurgaonOne Sector 84, (440 apartments) was completely sold-out within 48 hours after the announcement.
Industrial Park, Amritsar is an integrated world-class industrial township of 135 acres located on the Mehta Road, adjacent to the GT Road. The project will be launched soon.
AlphaOne, Meerut, a mixed-use development located at Bye-Pass Road, Meerut, is only 60 km from Delhi and falls in the National Capital Region. This project is strategically located in order to cover the large catchments area consisting of city, cantonment area, highway travellers, and townships around the place.
Awards and accolades
For their industry best practices, Alpha G:Corp and their management has won several awards and accolades from global and industry apex and media bodies, such as CNBC Awaaz – CRISIL & CREDAI, World Brand Congress, Asia Pacific Real Estate, Asia Retail Congress, Indo-Thai Economic Cooperation, Exchange4media, CMO Asia, Images Group, Cityscape Asia Real Estate, Pride of Industry, Asia Pacific HRM Congress and the SIAS Summit of Achievers and Leaders.
The positive note
The real estate sector in India is on its way to evolving into a full-fledged industry. The business environment is heading towards greater transparency in procedures. Several checks and balances are also being issued by the government backed by legal institutions. There are talks about creation of a
real estate regulatory authority and all these point towards the emerging market need for credible developers who can respond to these evolving forces. In the future, the consumer will prefer professionally managed companies with better project delivery track records.
This is where customer-centric and professionally managed companies will take centre stage.
Commenting on the development of real estate, Dr. Sen says, “There is a need to develop innovative ways to reduce construction costs without compromising on the quality of construction apart from harnessing new methods in the use of newer, energy efficient, environment friendly materials and innovative construction technologies that minimise skilled inputs and deliver faster results at affordable prices. Also, the recent slowdown in the economy resulted in buyers constituting more ‘end-users’ segment than investors and speculators. Since the new class of buyers are more aware of legal documentation, approvals and due diligence, we have seen the advent of professionalism and accountability in the industry. However, real estate industry is going to be dominant and the requirement of the end users will be of paramount importance while more and more buildings will go green. Innovations on how to keep maintenance costs low will come afore. Clean transactions will become routine. The present stature of real estate depends on the government’s policies concerning interest rates, land acquisition laws and, of course, the delivery of the finished products as there is uncertainty on all these crucial fronts.”
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Untangling the problems
A few steps can, in fact, change the scenario for good. The government must first declare real estate as an industry. Thereafter, there must be the political will to implement a suitable, uniform structure for incentivising the developer community across the board for adopting technologies that are economically and environmentally sustainable with energy conservation. Today, there are certain states in the country which do incentivise the developers who have adopted solar energy in their projects. These sorts of effective measures should be planned and implemented across the board. “Additionally, the end users must be encouraged to invest or buy such projects through incentivised bank loans and through well governed municipalities and their property tax structure,” opines Dr. Sen. He also views that the government must ensure avoidance of any unwarranted uncertainties regarding land acquisition. “Land markets in India are imperfect. There is asymmetry of power and information between those wanting to acquire the land and those whose lands are being acquired. That is why there has to be a role for the government to put in place a transparent and flexible set of rules and regulations and to ensure its enforcement. Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) need to be seen necessarily as two sides of the same coin. R&R must always, in each instance, necessarily follow upon acquisition of land,” he adds.
Concern for environment
Real estate industry is going to be steered by end users, whose requirement will be of paramount importance. More and more buildings will go green. Innovations on how to keep maintenance costs low will come afore. The total number of green buildings in India is expected to be more than 2,000 by 2012. The total investment in green buildings is expected to be around $42.6 billion by 2012. Interest benefits on loan by banks for green projects, more incentives and regulations are likely to push the acceptance of green buildings in India. Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) is introducing an energy performance index for the rating of such buildings. The parameter for ratings will be energy consumption in kilo watt per hour per square meter per year. Ratings will vary for different climatic conditions.
“Alpha G:Corp’s outlook for all their projects are to ensure functionality of these basic yet indispensable systems that blend eco-friendly measures with pragmatism. Building systems and processes that help gain energy efficiency has been another hallmark of our projects. As a developer, we have endeavoured to leave 50 per cent of the space as green in all our projects. The DNA of the company has been to ensure that the horticulture adopted takes care of soil conservation and prevention of soil erosion, as part of the green process,” avers Dr. Sen.
In the coming five years
The new trend for the future will be the need-based shift from metros to tier II and III cities and small satellite towns, which will be transformed with the availability of housing loans, plans for malls, IT and industry parks within planned townships. Alpha G:Corp too is propelling their focus on these prospective small towns, as Dr. Sen comments, “In the coming five years we are looking at developing property worth Rs 5000 crore pan India. We will continue to focus on tier II and III cities as we bring developments in new markets such as Ludhiana, Jaipur and Meerut in addition to expanding our existing developments in Karnal, Fatehabad and Amritsar. We are also focused on developing AlphaOne, Ahmedabad on the lines of AlphaOne, Amritsar as an upscale shopping and entertainment destination like never before. The project is due for launch in September 2011. Our attention would be on controlled expansion with a tight grip on maintaining quality standards and ensuring all statutory compliances. Our city centres in Ahmedabad and Amritsar are our show windows to an ever growing customer base and thereby help in creating demand in all the real estate segments that we are involved in.” This is what Alpha G:Corp is looking forward to building up greater awareness and providing best quality, which eventually lead to increased demands.
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