DLF To Put In Over Rs 6,000 Cr In Gujarat

Mumbai/ Ahmedabad: DLF Ltd, Delhi-based real estate major, has decided to put in over Rs 6,000 crore in Gujarat in next 2-3 years. The company would be taking projects like IT parks, residential, retail and other projects through this investment. It is already investing Rs 3,000 crore of these for setting up three IT Parks, one each in Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad and Vadodara. Moreover, the company is interested in investing for port, airport and other infrastructure projects in the state. DLF is eyeing major cities of Gujarat like Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot for these projects. Spread across an area of 25 acres, the IT Park at Gandhinagar is expected to be completed in 18 months, with the first phase to be completed in nine months. To be built at an investment of over Rs 800 crore, the IT Park has received a formal status of a special economic zone (SEZ) and is expected to generate employment for around 30,000 persons. The real estate company earned a turnover of around Rs 3,000 crore in the 1st quarter and is expecting to grow by over 20 per cent. With diversification in mind, DLF has recently entered into a JV with USA-based Prudential Insurance for introducing several financial products including life insurance. The company, with a stake of 74 per cent in the JV, has applied to IRDA and is expecting a license soon in the current fiscal.