Rakeen, Trimex form JV Co for real estate projects

New Delhi, Dec 3: Rakeen, a West Asia-based real estate company, today said it has tied up with Chennai-based Trimex Group to form a joint venture company to develop residential, commercial and office space in the country at an investment of five billion dollars in the next five years.

The JV company, Rakindo Developers Pvt Ltd, intends to develop in the next seven years on a conservative basis 50 million square feet of real estate space. It will develop integrated townships as there is a "strong need to develop such townships outside existing cities," said Rakindo Managing Director Prasad Koneru.

The company is actively looking at tier II cities in South India and its first project will be the Coimbatore Township and IT SEZ at an investment of around 1.5 billion dollars. The development of this project will be across 800 acres of land and the first phase will see the development of 600 acres.

Rakindo plans to raise its capital through equity and debt from domestic markets.

Rakeen has already invested 100 million dollars towards the new company and will bring in additional 100 million dollars in 2008.

"We will bring in the money as and when we need it to develop our projects," said Rak Investment Authority CEO Khatar Massad.

Rakeen Development is a private joint stock property establishment launched in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), the UAE, to tap RAK's thriving real estate market with an authorised capital of 800 million dollars.

Rakeen already has a two billion dollar aluminium plant in ] Andhra Pradesh and has also invested close to 100 million dollars for its ceramics facility in Andhra Pradesh.

Rakindo also plans to develop the country's first Marina in the east coast on the estuary of a river as well as various other projects across Chennai, Kumarakom and Cochin.

Rakindo has a land bank of about 4,000 acres at present and Mr Koneru said the company was looking at additional 5,000 acres of land for its projects.

UNI