Progress on a Dh44 billion (US$12bn) development in India planned by the UAE property developer, Limitless, has been held up following a change in government in the southern state of Karnataka, where the project is to be located. Limitless, which is owned by Dubai World, announced plans for the Bidadi project - a 50/50 joint venture with India's largest property developer, DLF - in October last year.
Construction on the township, which will be spread across 40 million square metres of land and is expected to house 750,000 people, was supposed to begin during the first half of this year. But the project has been set back by May's government elections in Karnataka, which resulted in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coming to power. It was the first time the BJP, which has been part of coalition governments, has taken power on its own in the state.
Limitless has not received confirmation from the new government on whether the project, to be located about 35km south of Bangalore, will go ahead. "We await further news from the government of Karnataka on the Limitless-DLF Bidadi project, but have every confidence that the development will go ahead as planned," said Rebecca Rees, the media relations manager at Limitless. Despite the setback, Limitless still sees India as a key market for its developments, mainly due to the mass migration to urban centres and high demand for new housing.
An emerging middle class in India has also led to a rise in demand for the type of complete township developments that are common in the UAE. "India is facing its biggest urban migration ever, and our ability to master plan large-scale, balanced urban communities allows us to help India address its growing demand for new homes," added Ms Rees. Limitless now has a fully-staffed office in India. "We are planning a series of large-scale developments there that address the country's evolving real estate needs. Limitless is currently evaluating projects on a pan-India basis," said Ms Rees.
According to a report compiled in June by the investment consultancy firms CAP Gemini and Merrill Lynch, the number of people in India considered to be "high net worth individuals" grew by 22.7 per cent in the last year, the highest in the world. This was largely spurred by real GDP growth of 7.9 per cent. Emaar Properties is another major UAE developer that aims to tap into this emerging sector of the market.
The company has joined forces with India's MGF Development and has mixed-use projects in the pipeline across 26 cities, including the Boulder Hills in Hyderabad, the Chennai Esplanade in north Chennai and Palm Springs in Gurgaon. A spokesman for EmaarMGF said India stands to provide greater returns on investment, considering most other emerging and major markets have been experiencing a downslide.
"As lifestyle definitions undergo rapid changes, urban Indians' outlook towards life and living has undergone a complete transformation," said the spokesman. @Email:agiuffrida@thenational.ae