BANGALORE, AUGUST 13, 2004
SUJIT JOHN
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
If it happens as proposed, it will be one of India's largest foreign
direct investment projects and Asia's largest new city development to
date. And it could change the face and image of Bangalore.
We are talking about Jagdish Tytler's NRI City. Or, as its promoters
call it, Royal Garden City.
As per the plans of the US-based promoters Royal Indian Raj International
Corporation (RIRIC), the city will be built at a cost of $2.95 billion
(approx. Rs 13,800 crore) and have a retail value of $8.9 billion (approx
Rs 41,400 crore).
Construction of the city — situated approximately 20 km from Bangalore
in the direction of the proposed Devanahalli international airport —
is scheduled to commence in early 2005 and is expected to be completed
in phases by 2015.
According to a RIRIC release announcing the appointment of Jones Lang
LaSalle (JLL) as the real estate adviser for the project, the Bangalore
project will have 35,000 residential units, a central business district,
industrial district, entertainment district, parks, restaurants, shopping,
educational facilities, and civic amenities. An estimated 3,00,000 to
5,00,000 people are expected to live, work and play daily within the
3,000-acre city. It is expected to be a modern "smart city”,
including being completely Web-enabled and built with the latest technologies.
JLL is expected to use its global capital markets capability to introduce
investors, occupiers and joint venture partners to "this unprecedented
investment opportunity”.
RIRIC officials were not available for comment, but the company's website
says RIRIC already holds over 10,000 acres of clear titled land in Bangalore
and New Delhi. Sources indicated that the company has spoken to the
local panchayat in the area and that the latter has no objection to
further land acquisitions.
RIRIC is also believed to have tied up some of the funding. The UK-based
private investment group, GEM (Global Emerging Markets) Global Yield
Fund, is expected to offer a £300 million equity line of credit.
RIRIC officials, including its chairman Manoj Benjamin, a Canadian
of Indian origin, are currently camping in Delhi and are in discussions
with Tytler, the Union minister for NRIs. Benjamin and Tytler are expected
to come down to Bangalore shortly to meet Karnataka chief minister Dharam
Singh to discuss issues, including the provision of single-window clearance
for all facilities related to the project.
Three other similar development projects by RIRIC are slated for 2006/2007
in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. RIRIC, incorporated in Nevada, US, in
March 1999, calls itself a conduit that brings leading edge infrastructure
technologies into India's key infrastructure areas.