Embassy Office Park REIT is investing more than Rs 100 crore to develop metro stations in Bengaluru and will continue to contribute towards developing the city's infrastructure, CEO Aravind Maiya has said.
"To solve basic infrastructure challenges in the city, such as traffic, we have already constructed a flyover to decongest the Manyata Tech Park with over Rs 180 crore of investment. We have also constructed the footbridge for Rs 20-30 crore investment and working on the metro stations today," Maiya said at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Commercial (RICS) Real Estate conference in Bengaluru on September 12.
"As Bengaluru continues to develop, we have the opportunity to work together with the government through a public-private partnership model to ensure that the infrastructure is in place," Maiya added.
In 2020, the Embassy Group signed an agreement with Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to fund the Bettahalasur station, which supposed to come up between Bagalur Cross and Trumpet Junction, costing around Rs 140 crore. As reported by Moneycontrol, the fate of the station, which would have provided direct access to the Embassy Boulevard complex, remains unclear to date.
Changing landscape of REITs in India
Mindspace Business Parks REIT CEO Ramesh Nair said compared to five years back, developers now have clear commercial strategies. The regulations in place have ensured that REITs become a transparent and safe platform for investments, he added.
The Centre, for instance, amended the special economic zones act on December 6, 2023, allowing partial de-notification of certain areas for non-SEZ use — allowing the REIT occupancy level to increase.
REITs are evolving at a quick pace. "When we started, we had 4,000 unit holders but now we have over 1.2 lakh unit holders," Maiya said.
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