Supertech wants to develop new housing project on twin towers site; to approach Noida authority

Realty firm Supertech Ltd, which incurred a loss of about Rs 500 crore from the demolition of its twin towers, wants to develop a new housing project at the same place and it will seek refund of land cost and other expenses if authorities do not approve the plan, its Chairman R K Arora said.

The nearly 100-metre-tall twin towers -- Apex and Ceyane -- were demolished at 2.30 pm on August 28 as per a Supreme Court order that found their construction within Emerald Court premises in violation of norms.

More than 3,700 kg of explosives were used in this operation. After the debris gets cleared from the site, Arora said the company will submit a proposal before the Noida development authority to develop a housing project and also take consent of RWA of Emerald Court, if needed.

"We were allotted 14 acre of land by Noida authority in Noida Sector 93 A for the development of the group housing project. Out of the total land parcel, the twin towers were built on 2-acre land. "Now the twin towers have been demolished, we will submit a plan to develop a group housing project on the 2-acre land which is owned by the company," he told PTI.

Read | A playground or temple - What will replace Noida's twin towers?

Asked how hopeful the company is to get approval, Arora said the company will definitely put up a plan and then it is up to the authority. "We will also take consent of RWA of Emerald Court if required," he said. When asked about the RWA's plan to build temple on the land, Arora said: "The RWA should own the land to develop anything. Land is owned by us." The chairman said the 2-acre land does not fall under the green area.

In case permission to develop a housing project is not granted, he said Supertech will seek refund of land cost from the authority.

"The land cost at present rate should be around Rs 80 crore. We had also paid around Rs 25 crore for the purchase of extra FAR (floor area ratio) in this project," Arora said. On the damage to the Supertech brand from the demolition, Arora said its definitely a setback but reiterated that the company had developed the twin towers as the building plan approved by the Noida authority and no deviations were made. Asked whether the company is facing difficulty in raising funds and in sales, Arora said the company has been convincing its customers as well as financial institutions that the demolition would not impact its other projects.

"We have completed and given delivery of more than 70,000 units to homebuyers since inception and are committed to giving delivery to the remaining 20,000 homebuyers over the next two years," Arora said. On August 28, Arora had told PTI that the company suffered a loss of about Rs 500 crore, including construction and interest costs, because of the demolition of its twin towers in Noida. "Our overall loss is around Rs 500 crore, taking into account the amount we have spent on land and construction costs, the charges paid to authorities for various approvals, interest paid to banks over the years and the 12 per cent interest paid back to buyers of these two towers, among other costs," he had said.

The total built up area in these two towers was around 8 lakh square feet. "We constructed these towers as per the building plan approved by the Noida development authority," he added. According to property consultant Anarock's Vice Chairman Santhosh Kumar, the current value of over 900 apartments in these two towers would be over Rs 700 crore. The two towers, which were launched in 2009, comprised 1 BHK studio apartment as well as 2 and 3 BHK flats in the size range of 1,050-1,475 square feet. Anarock said the project was launched at Rs 3,200 per square feet.

The price was revised to Rs 5,200 per square feet in 2012 when the number of floors was increased to 40. Kumar said the current market rate of apartments at this location is Rs 8,500-9,500 per square feet. In August last year, the Supreme Court had ordered the demolition of the twin towers and directed that the entire amount of homebuyers has to be refunded with 12 per cent interest from the time of the booking.

The apex court also ordered that the Residents Welfare Association be paid Rs 2 crore for the harassment caused due to the construction of the twin towers. The court had said the construction of Supertech's twin 40-storey towers having 915 flats and 21 shops was done in collusion with the Noida Authority.

Nine years after a residents' association went to court over the illegally built Supertech twin towers, a series of controlled explosions reduced the 100-metre tall structures to a huge pile of rubble -- watched by thousands from surrounding rooftops and lakhs on live television. Apex (32 storeys) and Ceyane (29 storeys) were gone in 12 seconds, in the carefully choreographed and meticulously executed demolition, the biggest such exercise in the country so far.