Mana Projects to invest Rs 250 crore over next five years to acquire land, to foray into Hyderabad

The company expects to generate a revenue of about Rs 3,700 crore from the sale of commercial and residential projects

Bengaluru-based real estate group Mana Projects is getting ready to invest Rs 250 crore for the acquisition of 50 acres of land in the next five years. The company also plans to launch its first commercial office in Hyderabad in August this year for which land acquisition is currently on.

"We have so far delivered or taken up for development four million square feet of residential apartments in Bengaluru, and with the present land acquisition in the city, the estimated construction is likely to be an additional 4.5 million square feet across Bengaluru," Kishore Reddy, Managing Director of Mana Projects told Moneycontrol.

Over the next five years, the company expects to generate a revenue of about Rs 3,700 crore from the sale of commercial and residential villas and flats in Bengaluru . and Hyderabad.

Mana has completed over 26 projects at Sarjapura in the southeast part of the city. Reddy said the company has been focusing on the IT-dominated Sarjupara area. "We are currently moving to Whitefield in the eastern periphery, another major IT hub in Bengaluru," he said.

Additionally, Mana is looking forward to entering North Bengaluru, plans for which are being conceptualised.

Exploring flexible living concepts

The company is exploring flexible design options for buyers.

"For the three ongoing projects -- Mana Foresta, Uber Verdant and Mana Capitol -- we are looking at two or three-bedroom apartments and duplexes. We are focusing on flexible concepts with efficient usage of units where the bedrooms can be converted into open spaces with foldable walls. Among our target market is the young crowd, mostly IT professionals. Alongside, we are also targeting homebuyers who are looking for a comfortable retired life; they are a substantial part of the society," he added.

In Mana Capitol, one of the ongoing projects, about five acres have been allocated for development while two acres are exclusive for commercial spaces, including office spaces. "We want to bring workplaces closer to the home; especially after the pandemic, the concept of the workplaces has changed completely with the rise of more co-working places," Reddy observed.

Among other ongoing projects, Uber Verdant-II. spreads over 6.65 acres, and Mana Foresta sprawls across 1.1 acres of land. "Mana Foresta. comprises vertical forest towers to make you feel amid nature," he noted.

Reddy said the real estate trend in Bengaluru has evolved over the last two decades. "Today, people are looking for larger communities with several amenities. The concept of gated communities has boomed. Especially after the pandemic, people want to have larger units like 3–4-bedroom apartments," he added.

For sustainable living, Reddy believes the cost and maintenance of the project should be cut down using value engineering. Before any project, Reddy said the company's in-house team, along with agencies from abroad, do an aqua mapping of the entire area.

An aqua map uses technology to scan the land area for finding the water pockets below the topsoil. After identifying the points through satellite mapping, they are recharged so that recycling of water happens, keeping the underground water table unaltered.

The architecture of Mana Projects' buildings is designed after evaluating the data from the meteorological department. The group's projects introduced several eco-friendly construction features such as rainwater harvesting, built-in sewage treatment plants, and landscaped gardens. Reddy said annually, the company's projects harvest and store more than 10 crore litres of water

Among the challenges, Reddy said a major problem he has faced is the city's infrastructure. "However, we are seeing rapid development in the outskirts of the city like Sarjapura and Whitefield. And we should hope for a major development over the next couple of years," he added.