Indo-US Partnership - new media

Real Estate
Sky's is the Limit for
Skyline Builders
Skyline Builders are one of the leading construction companies in Kerala. In an
exclusive interview, Mr. K. Srikant, Director and past Chairman of the Kerala Builders
Association, told G Biju Krishnan that there are distinct signs of an upswing in the
realty business, with the shortage of houses on the one hand and availability of cheap
housing loans on the other. The following is the text of the interview:
As a premier construction company in the country, what
is the scenario of the real estate industry? The industry
has gone through some difficult times. Do you think that
“the feel good factor” has contributed to the turnaround
of the industry?
The real estate industry is currently booming. I was an
invitee to the recently held Builders' Conference at Vignan
Bhawan in Delhi. It was stated at the conference that there
is a shortage of 45 million houses in the country. The
industry is definitely very upbeat.
Yours is a leading company in quality constructions.
What are the projects you have for the NRIs, foreign
investors, corporates and multinationals? Have you
planned for any international projects?
Our company today is the largest homebuilder in Kerala.
For the financial year ended this March 2004, we crossed
the Rs.100-crore turnover, which is the highest for any real
estate company in Kerala. We have projects in five cities,
namely Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kottayam,
Kochi (Cochin), Trissur (Trichur) and Kozhikode (Calicut).
Currently, we are implementing 34 projects. We have
completed and handed over 52 projects. With regard to the
client profile, 60% comprise NRIs, so you can see that we
cater to the upper end of the market. But now we have
started work on other segments as well, which are the
medium and budget segments. We have not planned any
international projects as of now. Nevertheless, we are
getting business from the Gulf and now people in the UK
and the US are also showing an interest. We also have some
clients in the Far East.
The very name Skyline Builders indicates that you are a
builder with a difference and that you have special
schemes designed for different sections of society.
Could you elaborate on your various schemes?
As I mentioned earlier, we have now started catering to all
the segments -- from budget homes to medium to luxury to
super luxury. As regards finance, the easy availability of
finance at low interest rates is solely responsible for the
affordability of housing for everybody. Interest rates for
housing loans have come down to 7%, which is a step in
the right direction by the government.
What is the price for your budget homes or luxury homes?
We have homes costing from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs.50 lakh.
What are your future plans for Thiruvananthapuram as
well as other Indian cities where you have construction
interests? Could you also tell what these plans mean in
terms of investment?
Our plans include the following: The government is
undertaking regional development works in the capital
city of Trivandrum in Kerala. Kochi is the commercial
center in Kerala. Then we have Kottayam, Trichur and
Calicut, which have a fairly good Keralite population living
abroad belonging to those districts where NRI homes are
planned. So we intend on concentrating within Kerala.
We have not yet formalised plans outside Kerala. For
investments, we always procure land either by purchase or
agreements to buy or as a joint venture for the next 25
projects in Kerala. This is an ongoing process. Land is our
primary investment and we consider it as a primary raw
material. We have a marketing office in Dubai, which
INDO-US BUSINESS December 2004
34