The Telegraph
Farmers were paid Rs 3 lakh per acre when the land was acquired in 2006. The project failed to materialise. Then in 2008, TVS entered into a contract manufacturing pact with Universal Success to produce bikes under the Mahabharat Motors brand. But TVS had to defer the project after recession hit sales.
Again in 2011, under the Trinamul Congress government, another attempt was made whereby TVS decided to pick up an equity stake in the joint venture with Universal Success. But till date there has been no success.
However, with logistics and warehousing picking up pace in the state, a fresh attempt has been made by the state to unlock the potential of the land. Real estate sources said ESR paid Rs 1.2 crore per acre to Mahabharat Motors for the land.
“Calcutta is a big market and there is potential for growth. This is evident from the fact that we already have interest in our project,” he said. The company is scouting for another 50-100 acres in the state but there are challenges as the policies are not clear on land conversion in case of private players. Besides Calcutta, Guwahati is another focus market for ESR in the region.
The real estate arm of Allianz Group on Friday announced its partnership with ESR to establish an investment programme targeting the logistics market in India.
Allianz said the proposed investment programme will start with an immediate equity commitment of $225 million, to be funded on a 50:50 basis by Allianz and ESR.
Warburg Pincus backed e-Shang Redwood Group (ESR) has acquired 75 acres of land in Uluberia from WBIDC to develop warehousing and logistics infrastructure. Several attempts to build a two-wheeler factory on this land have failed in the last 12 years.
ESR Advisers India, the local arm of the Hong Kong-based global logistics realty developer, has earmarked Rs 350 crore to cover the cost of development of land and infrastructure, which will be ready in three years.
The Telegraph has learned that the Rs 90-crore land deal involved the transfer of lease from NRI businessman Prasoon Mukherjee’s Mahabharat Motors, promoted by Universal Success, to ESR after the logistics company presented a detailed project report with the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation. This was followed by conversion of land use from industrial to logistics.
“We have acquired 75 acres of land from WBIDC and we will be building about 1.5 million square feet. We have already signed the lease for 0.7 million sq feet with an e-commerce firm,” said Gaurav Sharma, director — leasing and acquisition (north and east), ESR Advisers India, on the sidelines of a CII-organised summit on Saturday.
“CBRE, a global realty advisory firm, was instrumental in helping us acquire the land. It belonged to Mahabharat Motors. That has been assigned to us. We have just started the construction process. The whole process of delivery is expected in three years,” said Sharma.
The land parcel in Uluberia, around 50 kilometres from Calcutta, has a chequered past with several attempts made to kickstart two-wheeler manufacturing in the state. Initially in 2006, under the erstwhile Left Front government, the land was acquired by WBIDC and leased out to Universal Success, which decided to manufacture Chinese budget bikes from Bengal.
