The land prices around Hyderabad are skyrocketing once again, as the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority hit a jackpot by auctioning 69 acres of land on the outskirts for a whopping Rs 703 crore (Rs 7.03 billion).
The Golden Mile layout at Kokapet village in Rajendranagar mandal of Rangareddy district turned out to be a gold mine for HUDA. Plots were divided into three categories: Site I, II and III.
The area in each plot was different, starting from a little over one acre and going up to six acres. A majority of plots were between 3 and 6 acres in size.
Though HUDA had proposed to auction 100 acres but could not go ahead with the process in respect of 31 acres for assorted reasons. Out of the 18 plots in the three sites, 15 covering 69 acres were auctioned on Thursday.
The remaining three plots spread over 31 acres will be auctioned on July 24.
Golden Mile layout is located in the fast-developing western part of Hyderabad abutting the Rs 4,000-crore (Rs 40 billion) outer ring road project near Gachi Bowli, the knowledge corridor and Financial District of Hyderabad.
Within a 3-km radius are some of the world's leading institutions such as the Indian School of Business and International Institute of Information Technology and IT majors such as Microsoft, Infosys, Wipro and Polaris.
The financial district boasts of having Kanbay, UBS, Franklin Templeton and other majors. The proposed 60-story twin towers at Manchirevulu will be in the vicinity of Golden Mile. The new international airport at Shamshabad is just a 15 minutes' drive. A super deluxe seven-star resort and spa is also coming up close by.
A total of 47 bidders from across the country took part in the auction. They included hoteliers, real estate giants, topnotch IT firms and builders from Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and other parts of Andhra Pradesh.
Hyderabad-based Kailash Ganga Constructions, which offered Rs 65.02 crore (Rs 650 million) for 4.49 acres, or Rs 14.45 crore (Rs 144 million) per acre made the record bid.
The minimum upset price put by HUDA was only Rs 4.5 crore (Rs 45 million) per acre and the lowest bid for a plot was Rs 6.1 crore (Rs 61 million). The average price worked out to over Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) per acre.
To prevent real estate firms from jacking up prices and not paying the money, HUDA had set an earnest money deposit of Rs 2 crore (Rs 20 million) for the Golden Mile auction.
The successful bidders have to pay one-third of the bid amount as initial deposit by July 26 and the remaining amount in two equal instalments on August 9 and 24 respectively. The winning bidder will forfeit the EMD if he does not pay the bid money.
Delhi-based Today's Group Hotels (Andhra) was the next highest bidder, offering Rs 62.25 crore (Rs 622 million) for 4.61 acres, or Rs 13.51 crore (Rs 135 million) per acre. The very first plot auctioned went in favour of sealed tender when Pioneer Talafone Limited of Viceroy Group quoted Rs 10.01 crore (Rs 100 million) per acre while the highest open bid for the same plot was Rs 8.15 crore (Rs 81.5 million) per acre.
Prestige Gardens Estates (Bangalore) successfully bid for three plots, Kailash Ganga Constructions, Lake Point Builders (Mumbai) and My Home Constructions (Hyderabad) bid for two plots each.
Other successful bidders (for one plot each) were IBC Knowledge Park (Bangalore), Water Marke Estates (Hyderabad), Madhucon Properties (Hyderabad), Pioneer Talafone
(Hyderabad) Today's Group Hotels (Delhi) and Soma Enterprises (Hyderabad).
The Golden Mile layout is marketed as an exclusive development zone for major corporate projects. HUDA secretary and auction officer for Golden Mile P Venkatram Reddy said the HUDA had taken all clearances and there was no problem of any sort with the plots.
"We expected Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) per acre in Golden Mile auctions and are happy that it crossed Rs 14 crore (Rs 140 million) mark," he added.
In two years' time, the bidders would start construction activity with a total outlay of Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) and generate employment to thousands of people.
In the next 3 to 5 years, Golden Mile would have world-class facilities overtaking Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills, Madhapur and Gachi Bowli.
Tenders have already been floated for development of layout. In 4 to 6 months, roads and drainage network will be laid.
