Ansal API: Staying ahead of the curve

With a population of over 1.2 billion, demand for residential properties will never slacken in India, especially when one considers the huge backlog of homes. "Everybody would like to have a roof over their heads," says Vinod Tiku, Executive Director (UP), Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd. "As far as India's residential sector is concerned, demand will never go down."

Vinod Tiku, Executive Director
According to Tiku, supplies sometimes exceed demand, dampening prices. "There will always be correction in pricing, but I don't think demand for residential properties will fall significantly," he notes.
Tiku refers to Greater Noida where there has been a surge in supplies as developers have been building a number of projects. "Eighty per cent of developers in Greater Noida are first-timers and have not planned for the future," he says. Consequently, there is a glut in the market.
Real estate developers need vision and have to plan their strategy in advance. He cites the example of Sushil Ansal, the Chairman of Ansal API, who established the group in 1967. "In 1973, we pioneered the move towards Gurgaon, promoting Palam Vihar on the border between Delhi and Haryana, when there were no developments there," says Tiku. "Today, we call Gurgaon a Millennium City."
Similarly, when other areas of Delhi and the NCR got crowded, the Ansal Group thought of heading northwards to Kundli and Sonepat. "We had a good response there, so we moved further north to Panipat, Karnal, Kurukshetra and even Yamunanagar, all along National Highway 1."
Ansal API has also diversified into other states including Uttar Pradesh (UP), Rajasthan and Punjab. When the UP government called for bids to develop high-tech cities, Ansal API was among those selected to develop two projects - a 6,500-acre township in Lucknow and a 2,500-acre one near Greater Noida.
Sushant Golf City in Lucknow is today a vibrant township and one of the largest real estate developments in India. The first phase, covering 1,765 acres is almost complete and work on the second phase (1,765 acres) is gathering pace. "We recently got approval for the third and final phase of the project," says Tiku.
According to him, the company indulged in private negotiations with landowners and there were no problems relating to acquisition of such a vast tract of land. "We did not take any major help from the government," he adds. 
Ansal API has received a good response to the project. "Even in the Gulf, we had a good response from NRIs," he observes. "Every year our team participates in exhibitions in Dubai and they report good sales."
Sushant Golf City covers a wide spectrum of housing options: from flats costing a mere Rs400,000 to luxury apartments worth Rs70 million. The company had to give a commitment to the state government to build 30,000 units for economically weaker sections (EWS) and low-income groups (LIG) and sell them at Rs400,000 each. The UP government allots the flats to deserving people.
The residential part of the integrated township cannot account for more than 40 per cent of the total space under the government norms. It also has to include commercial, institutional and non-polluting industrial verticals within the township. "The aim is to promote the concept of walk-to-work," says Tiku.
While several leading schools have already started operations in the township, a 1,000-bed super-speciality hospital is being built by the Medanta group. "A medical college might also come up next to the hospital," he adds. Part of the 18-hole golf course is operational and a golf academy is also ready.
Ansal API is also developing Megapolis at Dadri near Greater Noida. "The area is emerging rapidly as a major hub," he points out. "The government is planning an eastern peripheral expressway and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor also starts off from close by. The first multi-level railway station complex is also coming up near Megapolis."
Besides these two projects, Ansal API has a strong presence in cities such as Agra, Meerut and Noida in UP. In Rajasthan, it is promoting townships in cities such as Jaipur, Ajmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Bhilwara.
In Punjab, it has major developments in Mohali, Bhatinda, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar. "We have diversified into tier I and tier II cities across north India," explains Tiku.
He admits that the sanctioning process can be quite cumbersome in India, especially for such large township projects. Also, dramatic changes are taking place in the retail space, with the emergence of e-commerce players, who are luring younger shoppers. "In online shopping there are less overheads and this is having an impact on retail," says Tiku. "But these are all corrections and you can expect retailers to come out with innovative ideas and take back their business."
Ansal API's business verticals include residential (integrated townships, condominiums, high-rise buildings, group housing), commercial spaces, retail (malls, shopping complex), hospitality, special economic zones (SEZs) and IT parks.