BPTP bags land deal for Rs 5,006 cr

In the country's largest land deal so far, real estate developer BPTP Group has won the right to develop 94 acres of commercial land at Noida, the boom town that is a part of the national capital region, for an eye-popping Rs 5,006 crore (Rs 50.06 billion).

BPTP quoted the highest sum for the site -- Sector 94 running along the Noida and Greater Noida Expressway -- bidding at Rs 1,30,207 per square metre, followed by the country's largest realty company DLF, which quoted Rs 1,17,000 per square metre and Omaxe at Rs 80,100 per square metre.

BPTP's winning bid was nearly 70 per cent more than the reserve price of Rs 2960 crore (Rs 29.6 billion) for the land parcel. The commercial complex at Noida will cater to the shoppers living along and commuting via the expressway.

Though the deal is not the highest in terms of price paid per square metre, it is the largest ever land deal in the country going by total value of the bid. Last August, DLF entered into an agreement with DCM Shriram Consolidated & Lohias Group to acquire 38 acres for Rs 1,675 crore (Rs 16.75 billion).

In November 2007, the Mumbai-based Wadhwa group bid at the rate of Rs 5 lakh per square metre for a 16,521

sq metre plot auctioned by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority at Bandra Kurla Complex, the secondary business district of Mumbai.

A combine of TCG Infrastructure and Hiranandani offered Rs 3.70 lakh per square metre for another plot in the same locality.

Kabul Chawla, Managing Director, BPTP said, "We are delighted to have won this important bid. BPTP will explore more such possibilities as and when they arise. We will make this commercial complex a world-class destination. The company is also in talks with the renowned architect of Norman Foster for hotels, commercial complexes and financial hubs".

BPTP recently bought a 30 acres plot at Knowledge City in Hyderabad for about Rs 666 crore (Rs 6.66 billion). The company has significant real estate interests at another NCR location - Faridabad - where it is developing a residential township.