BK Modi Group plans to invest $1 bn in 5 years in realty, wellness

BK Modi Group plans to invest about USD 1 billion over the next five years in Indian real estate and wellness space as it sees huge growth potential in these two sectors.

In an interview with PTI, group founder B K Modi asserted that there is a tremendous scope of bringing new technologies in the real estate sector as well as wellness space.

"We will be investing around USD 1 billion over the next five years," he said when asked about the proposed investment in these new ventures.

On source of investment, he said the group will also rope in foreign investors in the proposed projects.

The group is already constructing a commercial real estate project in Mumbai in partnership with a developer and now has plans to expand this business.

On the concept of private smart city, Modi said the group will develop a mixed use project in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh.

It already has a piece of land for this project where it will construct housing, mall, hospital and office space.

"Whatever is the need of a human life, is provided within a walking distance -- this will be our objective," Modi said.

The group will also be setting up manufacturing units producing AAC blocks and panels, pre-fabricated steel structures and glass processing units as it wants to cut down on the time required to complete the project by using latest global technologies.

He expressed concern over the time taken to construct high rise buildings.

The project in New Delhi is proposed to be developed as a wellness city with medical office buildings, residencies, service apartments, rehab centre, a quaternary care hospital, and senior care facilities.

In the wellness space, these investments will manifest as brownfield developments in preventive care centres in India and across the globe.

In 2015-16, the BK Modi Group had sold the erstwhile Saket City Hospital in the national capital to Max Healthcare.

Modi Holding Chairman Finance Committee, G P Singh said, "Across the projects in Delhi, Mumbai and Rampur, the group is proposing to develop approximately 3.5 million square feet of space at a cumulative initial cost of approximately Rs 6,000 crore in phase 1, these will be driven by new technologies that can revolutionise each sector."

Modi, who now holds a Singaporean passport, said it was his passion for new technologies that drove him to bring several new technologies such as the first mobile cellular service and first photocopier to India.

Smart Bharat Group Chairman Preeti Malhotra pointed out while Modi has a knack of investing in sunrise industries that is sharpened by his experiences has as an OCI (Overseas Citizen of India), "for investment in such sectors to grow, it is imperative that the right environment must be created".

There needs to be positive, investment-friendly changes in laws related to land, construction laws and tax, which can create an enabling environment for investors.

The group has diversified interests in mobility, finance, healthcare, entertainment, realty and technology sectors.

In the preventive healthcare space, the group has recently partnered with American healthcare company Fountain Life.