Page 26 - March_2022.indb

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CONSTRUCTION technology occupiers accounting for 12% share and engineering Cut, 39 screens of LUXE, 04 screens of Sapphire, 09 screens

and manufacturing occupiers accounting for 5% share, Savills
of IMAX, 19 screens of 4DX, 09 screens of P(XL), 13 screens of
Playhouse and 01 screen of PVR Onyx across the country.
India said. The city witnessed 2.5 million sq ft of Grade-A supply
infusion, registering an increase of 62% over 2020. Majority of
DALMIA BHARAT TO INVEST `9,000 CRORE IN
the new supply was in the form of IT developments in the micro-
EXPANDING CEMENT CAPACITY
markets of Navi Mumbai and Western Suburbs II. Vacancy levels
Dalmia Bharat is planning to increase its cement capacity to
in the city rose to 19.1% at the end of December 2021 pushing
more than 48 million tonnes (MT) by the end of fiscal 2024 from
the rental values southwards by 4% in 2021 compared to those
the current 35.9 MT by setting new plants and expansion of
in 2020.
existing facilities, acquisitions and debottlenecking of production
PVR SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH M3M INDIA IN THEIR with an investment of `9,000 crore. The company has an ongoing
LARGEST RETAIL PROJECT IN GURUGRAM project of 2.5 MT, greenfield of 3 MT, brownfield of 1.7 MT and
PVR has signed an agreement with M3M India to set-up an upgradation of around 5.3 MT. This will take the capacity to 48.4
8-screen multiplex at M3M 65thAvenue, the recently delivered MT by March of FY24. The company has finalised land in Chennai
largest luxurious retail project in Gurugram by M3M India, spread and Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu to put up two grinding units and is in
across 14 acres, with 1 million square feet of retail space and an advanced stage of finalising land in Bihar for a new project.
built with a top-line of `4,000 crore. M3M India’s 65thAvenue is For the December quarter of FY22, the company reported a
one of the most luxurious retail properties, located near M3M consolidated net profit of `103 crore, which was 44% lower year-
Golfestate and Trump Towers, at prime Golf Course Extension on-year, on the back of slow demand and high-cost pressure.
Road, Gurugram. The company is also investing in cost-efficiency technologies to
The 65thAvenue has been designed by Bental Associates, a reduce its cost structure. Dalmia is making investments to reduce
South Africa’s architectural firm.As part of its expansion plan, the power and heat consumption and new generation coolers and
company has been looking to set-up an ultra-modern and state- more. The company is also testing out electric vehicles, including
of-the-art 8-screen multiplex at a prime property in Gurugram. electric trucks in Odisha, for transportation. If that works well, we
The M3M 65thAvenue has impressed a lot in terms of architecture will be investing in EVs. The company aims to maintain its status
and designing and also the location. It has a huge potential of being net debt-free for the next few years. The company’s
and is expected to cater to about half a million population in net debt-to-Ebitda is a negative 0.64. Dalmia is a debt-free
the vicinity. company, with a very strong balance sheet.
A number of brands have already signed -- in for retail space at
M3M India’s 65thAvenue which include Reliance Trends, Bikaner, NEW INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS TO LEAD THE DEMAND
Pantaloons, Max Fashion, Derika, Mastizone, Headmasters, FOR CONSTRUCTION WORKS: RICS
Smaaash and Home Town. The 65thAvenue will have a 55,000 New infrastructure works are viewed as likely to lead the
square feet of food court and a gaming zone of about 42,000 construction, with private housing and non-residential works
square feet. It will also have 30,000 square feet of meticulously closely following with both anticipated as also deliver strong
designed atrium, much useful for new product launches. M3M growth in output, according to a survey by the Royal Institution of
India has so far delivered 40 projects in the last 10 years that Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
include about 4 million square feet of retail space and 20 million Construction experts in India painted a positive picture for the
square feet of overall space. industry over the next year with strong levels of activity expected
M3M India also recently delivered M3M Corner Walk and M3M despite mounting concerns around the cost of materials needed
Prive’. M3M Corner Walk has 874 units spread across 8.7 lakhs to deliver schemes and the financial options available to
square feet space and M3M Prive’ has 298 units spread across developers. Going forward expectations point to a strengthening
1.9 lakh square feet space. M3M India’s ATRIUM57, spread across in workloads across much of the region, with the infrastructure
2 lakh square feet is also a high-street retail project that has all sector in particular anticipated to deliver a solid upturn in output.
shops either facing main atrium or the main road. The triple Notwithstanding this, challenges around material cost pressures
height shops (30 feet height) at ground floor in Atrium57 have and labour shortages remain prominent and will likely continue to
flexibility of adjusting the height as per the requirements. M3M weigh on activity through the coming year.
India has also been in the news for selling over 1000+ units Despite this positive outlook, more respondents reported a fall
of M3M Soulitude residential project in the very first week of its in both new business enquiries (down by a net balance of -10%)
launch. The Company clocked `1,000 crore sales within the first and profit margins (-33%), suggesting profits and enquiries are not
week itself. expected to match the increased workloads.
PVR is the largest and the most premium film exhibition company Concerns reported by respondents focused on cost of materials
in India. Since its inception in 1997, the brand has redefined (80%) and the lack of financing available to make schemes
the way entertainment is perceived in the country. PVR currently viable (+76%) as the biggest factors that are now holding back
operates a cinema circuit comprising 860 screens at 179 the construction sector in India. Material costs are expected to
properties in 73 cities (India and Sri Lanka), serving over 100 grow by 7.17% over the next year – the largest increase faced
million patrons annually. PVR offers an array of formats in the by developers when compared with other costs such as other
premium screen category, which stands at 8 screens of Director’s construction costs (7.01%) or paying for labour (6.26%).

26 CONSTRUCTION OPPORTUNITIES|MARCH 2022