S. S. Lootah Asia to tap into the $16bn real estate market in India

Cityscape India, the world's largest B2B construction and real estate exhibition which is being held in Mumbai from 19-21 November, highlighting plans to introduce green buildings in the booming real estate sector of India.

S.S. Lootah Group, which has varied investment interests across several sectors in the UAE, Asia, Africa and Europe, had announced its foray into India earlier this year through S.S. Lootah Asia, which will drive investments into key growth sectors of the Indian economy including infrastructure, real estate services, manufacturing and knowledge economy.

Commenting on S.S. Lootah Asia's focus on the Indian real estate sector, Eng. Yahya Lootah, Vice Chairman, S. S. Lootah Group said "Undoubtedly, the dynamism of the Indian real estate sector is a major driving force for us to make our presence here. Being pioneers in this sector for over 40 years, we have amassed considerable expertise in this domain and are confident of leveraging this expertise in the bustling Indian real estate market."

He said the Group's focus will be in developing green buildings in India and the initiative will be spearheaded by SCG which is the largest of its kind alliance in the private sector sustainable construction domain with a workforce of over 15,000 and 22 experts specialised in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

SCG comprises ZAS-PSE, TROW, H.H Angus, Lootah-Vanbots, State Group International, TAS Designbuild and NCK Engineering Ltd. Each of the companies brings to the table specialised international expertise ranging from architecture and design, engineering consultancy to MEP, Infrastructure and Construction with footprints across continents.

"Green Buildings, built with focus on sustainable development through eco-friendly practices are the need of the hour to mitigate the risks of uncontrolled urbanisation which takes it toll on the environment. Our intention through SCG and our partners is to quicken the pace of the development of green buildings in India in line with our corporate philosophy based on leadership, partnership and innovation," added Eng. Yahya Lootah.

"Through our partnerships and alliances like SCG, we are confident to make our presence felt in the Indian real estate market estimated to touch $90bn by 2015 from the current levels of $16bn as per a recent report. We are excited to tap into the upswing potential of the Indian real estate market which is estimated to be growing at 30 per cent," Eng Lootah said.

He said the boom in the Indian real estate sector will continue to grow with the rise in cash rich Indian middle class consumers, dynamic growth of Indian corporates and positive initiatives by the government.

"Our investments in India come in the backdrop of a need to increase FDI flows into India from the Gulf countries. Currently investments from the Gulf to India are in the range of $2bn and there is tremendous potential to increase this further, particularly in the real estate and infrastructure sector which has attracted considerable FDI to the tune of $10bn," he added.