Provident Housing to launch five projects across 6.3 mn sq ft in Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune

Mallanna Sasalu, Chief Operating Officer, Provident Housing Limited

Provident Housing Ltd (PHL), a fully owned subsidiary of Bengaluru-based Puravankara Ltd, plans to launch five projects across 6.3 million square feet (mn sq ft) of land parcels in Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune with an investment of Rs 3,500 crore by the end of the next financial year (FY24).

Chief operating officer Mallanna Sasalu told Moneycontrol, “We launched two projects in FY22, Provident Winworth in Kochi and Provident Palm Vista in Mumbai, with a top line of Rs 568 crore. We plan to complete 1.9 mn sq ft of development in Bengaluru this financial year, which corresponds to an inventory value of Rs 1090 crore.”

More plans for Bengaluru

In FY23, PHL plans launches in two locations in Bengaluru, KIADB Hardware Park and IVC Road in North Bengaluru. “We have five ongoing projects in the city—Provident Capella on Soukya Road, Provident Equinox near Mysore Road, Provident Neora in Sampigehalli, Provident Park Square in Judicial Layout and Tivoli Hills, a plotted development project in Devanahalli,” Sasalu said.

Within the next financial year, PHL plans to complete 3,000 units across nine cities. Out of this, almost 70 percent of units, i.e., 2,100 units, will be in Bengaluru. The other cities are Hyderabad, Mangaluru, Kochi, Coimbatore, Goa, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune.

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Plans to expand the footprint

To date, PHL has delivered 12,445 units across the nine cities, developing more than 50 mn sq ft, and plans to invest Rs 9,000 crore by the next fiscal. Construction for 10,486 units is ongoing and land parcels for about 8,197 apartment units have been acquired. Construction will begin this fiscal.

“In Hyderabad, PHL currently has 2,300 apartment units ongoing. Additionally, we are launching 780 units in Chennai and negotiating for a land parcel in the city for 1,100 units. For Kochi, we have 3.4 mn sq ft development across a land parcel of 23 acres. Out of that, we have already launched 550,000 sq ft. And we are going for fresh approvals for 2,000 units in Kochi. In Goa, we have the single largest development of 2,000 units. For Pune, we have launched 3,300 units, and 550 apartment units are already for sale. In Mumbai, 1.5 mn sq of development is ongoing,” Sasalu added.

The apartments set to be launched will be one-, two- and three-bedroom units, apart from plotted developments. “In plotted developments, we are working on four land parcels across several cities aggressively by next fiscal spread across a wide range. We are also looking at the opportunity in Hyderabad and Chennai for plotted developments,” he said.

However, for now, PHL does not plan to foray into Delhi or its satellite cities, and other areas across India.

Changing landscape for affordable housing, cost hikes

Sasalu added that PHL is revamping its vision to bring in more transparency for homebuyers. “We plan to create more value for the customers... Our website is being updated so that in future our customers can track the construction and how their money is being used in the project,” he said.

With soaring prices of commodities, a surge in inflation and the Russia-Ukraine war, Sasalu said prices across the board have increased by at least 7 percent over the last six months.

“We are investing more this fiscal, compared to previous years, driving more demand for affordable housing in India. After the Covid waves, the landscape of affordable housing has changed in the country. Today, the company is focusing more on generating value for the investments people make in their housing segments. We are trying to provide 1,200 sq ft apartments that can be used like a bigger 2,000 sq ft apartment—all within an affordable range,” he said.

Despite the soaring costs, Sasalu said, PHL has managed to cap the unit pricing at Rs 75 lakh, especially in Bengaluru, to keep units affordable for more people. “Even though housing loans today see more interest on them, the salaries of people have also increased in the last three years. So largely, most people remain unaffected by the recent changes,” Sasalu added.

At a time land parcels in urban centres are becoming more expensive, Sasalu said almost all ongoing construction is being planned in peripheral parts of the cities. In Bengaluru, for instance, the ongoing projects are almost 20 km from the central business district (CBD). “However, with the pandemic and change in people’s lifestyles, the concept of CBD is slowly diluting. More people prefer to live near their workplaces and our projects are strategically placed to drive more demand,” he said.

PMAY driving more demand for affordable housing

The inclusion of middle-income and high-income groups in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, a central government initiative for affordable housing in India, has helped to drive more demand for such housing in India, Sasalu said.

With the recent extension of the PMAY scheme to December 2024, several customers will benefit from the government subsidies and this will continue to boost sales, he added.