Lodha Group, ESR in 50:50 JV to develop $100mn Industrial Park

June 12, 2019

Mumbai: City-based realty player Lodha Group has partnered with Warburg Pincus-backed logistics developer e-Shang Redwood (ESR) to develop an Industrial Park in Thane district at a cost of USD 100 million. 

The 50:50 joint venture between the two companies will develop 89-acre of land parcel in an industrial park in phased manner, which will house 17 institutional-grade speculative and non-speculative buildings. 

"There is lack of good quality industrial space in Mumbai. This partnership with the Lodha Group was very strategic and fits well with our vision for expanding our presence in India," ESR India co-CEO Abhijit Malkani told PTI here. 

He said the joint venture will develop 17 buildings with a total salable space of 1.8 million sqft. 

The luxury homes maker, Lodha had last year announced its foray into the warehousing and industrial park space with a 170-acre facility in its mega township project 'Palava' coming up in Dombivli in Thane district. 

"We have established a solid track record in rental asset classes like logistics, industrial, offices, and retail. Through this landmark collaboration that leverages our development expertise and ESR's industrial know-how, we will build a best-in-class industrial park," Lodha Group Regional CEO Shaishav Dharia said. 

He said the aim was to create a larger hub for non- polluting manufacturing and R&D centres for sectors like pharma, electronics, e-commerce, high-end engineering, among others. 

When asked the company's plans for the remaining over 80-acre land parcel, Dharia said, "initially we will be focusing on completing this development as the quantum is huge. We wanted to make the project more capital attractive for our partner and initially, we decided to start with 89-acre parcel. If the partner wants to further expand, they can do so." 

He further said Palava has already established as the largest residential development with nearly 30,000 units already sold and almost 25,000 homes delivered. 

ESR-Lodha Industrial Park at Palava City will be the only development within the area as an extension of Palava City, the first greenfield integrated smart city in India, he said. 

Palava is a 4,500-acre greenfield smart city in the Kalyan-Dombivli region being developed and managed by the Lodha Group. Its proximity to both the Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) and the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport makes it an ideal warehousing location for corporates. 

Based out of Hong Kong and Singapore, ESR has been scouting for opportunities to re-enter the Indian market after it left the country following the global financial crisis. 

Last year, ESR announced its investment of Rs 350 crore to develop 1.2 million sqft of industrial and logistics park in Chakan MIDC in Pune, which will offer both build-to-suit (BTS) solutions and standardised facilities. 

Source: Economic Times