News Point: Piramal Enterprises Limited (PEL) and Ivanhoé Cambridge, a real estate subsidiary of CDPQ (Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec), have announced an equity investment of INR 500 Crores, from the Piramal Ivanhoe Residential Equity Fund towards Palava, a smart city being developed by Lodha Group, located in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
PEL had previously announced a strategic co-investment fund with Ivanhoé Cambridge, to provide long term equity capital to blue chip residential developers across the five major metro cities in India (Mumbai, Bengaluru, NCR, Pune and Chennai). Ivanhoé Cambridge had allocated an initial US$ 250 Mn towards this fund.
Khushru Jijina, Managing Director, Piramal Capital & Housing Finance Ltd, said “We are pleased to announce our first deal through Piramal Ivanhoe Residential Equity Fund that is focused on providing growth capital to Tier 1 developers across major metro cities in India. We believe that the timing is opportune for the provision of equity capital over a longer time horizon and facilitate participation in larger projects with the ability to generate returns across real estate cycles.”
“We are committed to supporting the demand for equity from blue chip real estate developers, as they increasingly leverage investor partnerships in the early stages of the development to enable deployment over longer time horizon while generating returns across its life cycle,” he added.
Rita-Rose Gagné, President, Growth Markets, Ivanhoé Cambridge said “We are pleased to be investing in Palava City, a project we believe is a game-changer for mixed-use residential communities in India. As investors, we understand how our capital can play an important role in developing sustainable and modern places to live, work, play and more, in major cities around the world. We look forward to a successful project and more to come.”
Abhishek Lodha, Managing Director, Lodha Group, said “We are pleased to enter into partnership with marquee investors like Piramal and Ivanhoé Cambridge. The current investment is a testament to our proven track record in the affordable housing segment and our vision for developing Palava as one of the 50 most livable cities in the World.”
Palava City is an integrated smart city near Mumbai, with over 4,500 acres of land being developed across different phases. Phase I is spread across ~300 acres of land and is already delivered.
Phase II spreads across ~700 acres and is currently under development with a potential saleable area of ~57 million sq ft. Palava is located in the economic triangle of Navi Mumbai, Thane and Dombivli and is in close proximity to the rapidly expanding business hubs of Vashi, Airoli and Thane. Palava is currently home to a population of close to 100,000 people.
Palava is characterized as a “Pedestrian First” smart city designed to have everything (“Live-work-learn-play”) within walking distance thereby enhancing the quality of life for its citizens.
Palava has already made significant investments in developing high quality and sustainable infrastructure. Palava has been rated as the No. 1 smart city in terms of livability quotient by JLL and is emerging as a “model of urbanization” in India which needs more new cities to meet the requirements of rapid urbanization.
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