India's biggest land deal in NOIDA

In the biggest land deal in the country, a consortium led by Delhi-based Business Parks and Town Planners (BPTP) on Tuesday bagged a 95-acre commercial plot in Noida Sector 94 for a mindboggling Rs 5,006 crore from the Noida Authority.

The price per square metre in the deal — clinched after sealed bids were submitted — comes to Rs 1,30,207; or Rs 52.69 crore per acre. The next highest bid for the site was Rs 1,17,000 by DLF and the third highest, of Rs 80,000, by Omaxe. Ansal Properties and Infrastructure was earlier disqualified in the technical bid. According to a Noida Authority spokesman, the permitted floor area ratio for development of the site will only be two. Only an area of 8.2 million sq ft will be allowed to be developed. At this rate, the per sq ft construction right has cost BPTP a whopping Rs 6,100.

The astronomical amount paid for the site is a clear indication that, in terms of sentiment, there is no downturn in the real estate sector. It also points to Noida emerging as an alternative to Delhi and Gurgaon for office space. At present, office rentals in Delhi's high class areas range between Rs 200 to Rs 350 per sq ft. In Gurgaon, it varies between Rs 80 to Rs 120 per sq ft. As against this, rentals in Noida is in the range of Rs 40 to Rs 60 per sq ft. This has made Noida an attractive destination for the commercial space in NCR. In the previous biggest Noida land deal, Unitech had walked off with an approximately 340-acre residential plot for Rs 1,582.83 crore.

(via Times of India)