Record land deal, more flats

NOIDA IS hot property. On Tuesday, in the largest-ever land deal in India, real estate developer Unitech Limited won the bid for the 340-acre Express City in Noida with Rs 1,582.88 crore.

NOIDA IS hot property. On Tuesday, in the largest-ever land deal in India, real estate developer Unitech Limited won the bid for the 340-acre Express City in Noida with Rs 1,582.88 crore.

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Unitech outbid its nearest competitor DLF Universal by Rs 180 crore.

Express City is for residential purposes with 50 per cent of the land earmarked for open and green areas. Unitech managing director Sanjay Chandra told the Hindustan Times the area will developed to build super luxury residential apartments -- with the total number of flats not exceeding 5,000. It is a low-density area and so the number of flats will be less.

Depending upon the master plan and the guidelines of the Noida Authority, it would either develop high-rise apartments or bungalows. Chandra said Express City is a milestone project in the real estate development industry. "Our past experience in the development of world-class infrastructure and building capabilities will help us to contribute towards making Noida a truly global township," he said. "We look forward to partnering with the state and implementing our plans for the Express City."

The project cost would be around Rs 5,000 crore, which will be funded through internal accruals, Chandra said. The company has already deposited 10 per cent of the bid amount. The balance is interest bearing and can be paid over the next five years. Sources said work on the project would start in six months and it would be completed by 2010.