Leading from the front

The company is looking at housing projects that can attract NRI buyers

NBCC (India) Ltd - formerly the National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd - a government of India enterprise, has a lot to offer NRIs in the Gulf.
"As a leading developer of properties, with many projects on offer for NRIs, we plan to host some road shows in the Gulf later this year," Anoop Kumar Mittal, chairman-cum-managing director, NBCC, told this correspondent in Delhi. "The properties will be in the average-to-high-price segment."
Besides NRIs, the road shows will also target Arabs in the Gulf and even other foreigners living there. "We will offer our properties and also showcase NBCC, which is a listed company."
According to Mittal, NRIs in the Gulf are keen to invest money in the Indian real estate market. NBCC is also looking at housing projects that can attract NRI buyers. 
"Two of the biggest and richest NRIs living in the Gulf - whose names I cannot reveal now - have met me and shown keen interest in some of the projects," says Mittal. 
The properties that it offers to NRIs and other buyers are on a freehold basis. "We take responsibility for maintaining it for 30 years," he adds. Another advantage for NRI and foreign investors is the fact that the government-owned company follows all the proper rules and norms.
"All payments are official and the buyers have confidence in us," he points out. NBCC has always been a profitable public sector enterprise for more than a decade.
The company is also tying up with foreign firms to acquire technology. "The kind of housing we are looking at cannot be done by using conventional technology," he says. "We recently signed an agreement with a company in Hungary."
A part of the Ministry of Urban Development, NBCC, which also operates in project management consultancy, is currently focusing on housing in a big way. "We are redeveloping almost 30,000 houses in Delhi," says Mittal. "Another 30,000 are in the pipeline in the capital alone."
Citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of providing 'housing for all by 2022,' Mittal points out that the Indian government is mobilising all agencies to strive towards this goal. "We have been asked to lead this movement," he says.
NBCC also has the responsibility of maintaining land records of public sector units (PSUs) and disposing of their surplus land. "We are the land management agency of the government," he adds.
The company has identified a lot of plots across different parts of the country and is proposing developing housing on some these parcels. "We are also working out guidelines on how to attract private players," notes Mittal. Developers usually ignore constructing houses that can be sold at affordable prices. 
"We have started making some guidelines on how developers can sell projects at affordable rates; the process has already started," he adds.
The blue-chip government of India company - which is also a 'Navrtana' enterprise' - is listed on the stock exchanges. The company had on hand orders worth more than Rs360 billion towards the end of the previous fiscal. In 2015-16, its income surged to Rs58.4 billion and it raked in a profit of Rs3.11 billion
"We have a market capitalisation of around Rs200 billion," explains Mittal. "While we have a land bank of just 200 acres, we manage thousands of acres of land owned by other PSUs."
The company recently signed its annual memorandum of understanding with the Indian government, setting various performance parameters. Revenue from operations has been targeted at Rs68.5 billion and profit before tax at over Rs3 billion. It plans to get new works worth Rs86 billion.
NBCC aims to complete 36 towers at the mega redevelopment project of East Kidwai Nagar and demolish thousands of housing units in three housing colonies in the capital. 
It has also set a target demolition of 75,000 sq m area - out of a total of 126,000 sq m - at the ITPO Project in Pragati Maidan. Other projects it aims to complete during the year include one for IIT Roorkee, a trade facilitation centre and crafts museum in Varanasi an ESIC Medical College and Hospital at Mandi in Himachal Pradesh and the VNIT Nagpur.
The company is also shouldering significant initiatives including monetisation of land of sick PSUs, 'Housing for all' ventures, adoption of new technologies for faster construction and reconstruction of heritage buildings. 
It has also set up two new wholly-owned subsidiaries - NBCC International Ltd and NBCC Environment Engineering Ltd - to effectively address its overseas operations and in the environment sector. 

• India