ETA Star Property Developers looks for partners

Chennai's ETA Star Property Developers Limited, part of $4 billion turnover ETA Ascon group based in Dubai, is holding discussions with two US and two European investors to offload an approximately 40-per cent stake. The stake sale will help finance its real estate development projects in the pipeline. The Tamil Nadu Industrial Corporation Limited holds a 0.1-per cent in ETA Star, with the balance being held by the promoters. According to managing director P H M Syed Ismail, the company needs funds mainly to execute its proposed Rs12,000-crore integrated township project at Sriperumbudur near Chennai. "The project will be spread over 1,200 acres. Already we have 250 acre and the balance is in the process of acquisition." He hopes to complete the land acquisition process in six months, while the the entire infrastructure is scheduled for completion in one and a half years. "After that it will take around seven years for us to complete the entire township project. We can construct five-crore square feet." At the launch of the company's first residential apartment project in Chennai, Jasmine Court, Ismail said, the 4.4 acre residential complex will have six individual blocks of four floors with 219 apartments, with a total built up area of 2.87-lakh sq.ft. The two- and three-bedroom apartments are spread over between 1,100 and 1,557 sq.ft. "The launch price is Rs2,990 per sq.ft," he said. The company is developing the property in partnership with Baashyam Constructions P Ltd, Chennai. Earlier ETA Star had built the Binny Crescent and The Gardens residential complexes in Bangalore, where the ETA group had invested in the 70-acre plot that had belonged to the erstwhile Binny Limited, at Binnypet. "We will develop Bangalore City Centre, a 7-lakh sq.ft shopping mall and the ETA Star Innovative Film City, a 5.5-lakh sq.ft villas and apartment complex in Bidadi near Bangalore. In Chennai, ETA Star is mainly involved in development of commercial properties like shopping malls and IT parks, and the Jasmine Court marks its entry into the city's residential property market. This will be followed by 6.3 lakh sq.ft residential cum serviced apartment complex in Padur on the Old Mahabalipuram Road; an ultra premium apartment complex in Greenways Road, Chennai proper and 64 luxury villas spread over 17 acres at the junction of the Old Mahabalipuram Road and East Coast Road. The company is developing a 27-lakh sq.ft IT park on the Old Mahabalipuram Road called ETA Techno Park. "The total project cost of Rs600 crore. We have completed 3 lakh sq.ft and has leased out to HCL Technologies. Another 3 lakh sq.ft is in the process of construction for the same client," Ismail said. The company will also build a shopping mall at the site of the landmark Anand Theatre on the Anna Salai, Chennai, which will soon face the demolition squad. The one notable shopping mall built by ETA Star in Chennai is the Chennai Citi Centre. However it has attracted the municipal authorities' attention for some deviations from the approved plans. "The deviation is very miniscule and in six months time it will be set right," asserts Ismail. The company says ETA Star has real estate projects worth Rs1,100 coming up on 45 acres in Chennai. It also says that it has Rs2,000 crore worth of real estate development projects in other parts of the country. In Mumbai, ETA Star has set up a 50:50 joint venture in partnership with Supra Estates to develop 10-lakh sq. ft, of which 7-lakh would be for residential and the remaining for a 3-lakh shopping mall in Juhu. The project will start in four months time. ETA Star is also involved in developing 63 acre near Mumbai. "The project will be developed into a health resort with a 5-star hotel, spa and other facilities," Ismail adds. ETA Star's parent, ETA Star Property Developers LLC, Dubai, has launched over five-million sq.ft of premium properties in Dubai and the Northern Emirates. The company also has plans to develop another four-million sq. ft of commercial, residential and hospitality projects in Business Bay, Arabian Bay, International Media Production Zone, Dubai, Internet & Media City, a luxury resort & spa in the Jumeirah Palm Crescent in the Middle East.