After 12 years, Unitech begins construction on 2 Gurugram projects

Realty major Unitech on Sunday began construction on two real estate projects in Gurugram — 12 years after they were launched, people familiar with the matter said.

The projects are Unitech Sunbreeze in Sector 69, and Unitech Vistas in Sector 70. Sunbreeze has 888 apartments of which 680 are sold, and Vistas has 23 towers with 1,287 apartments of which 1,241 are sold. Both projects are expected to be completed in phases in the next 18 to 36 months, said officials.

The two projects were launched respectively in 2008 and 2009 and were supposed to be delivered in 2012. However, they were never completed because the developer defaulted.

Homebuyers filed several petitions against the company management, after which the Supreme Court in December 2019 directed the central government to appoint an independent board of directors to manage the company. The court directed the government-appointed board, which took charge in 2020, to complete Unitech’s pending residential and commercial projects.

On Sunday, YS Malik, chairman and managing director of Unitech, and chief executive officer Ashok Yadav, who have been appointed by the government on the Supreme Court’s directions, began work on the two projects in Gurugram in the presence of a large number of home buyers.

“We have all the permissions in place and construction started today. We have hired a project management consultant, a contractor, and a third-party government consultant to monitor quality and processes,” said Malik.

Malik said that the work to complete these towers has been allotted to a construction company after getting approval from the Supreme Court and statutory permissions from the ministry of environment and finance, state pollution department, and department of town and country planning.

“The tender for 18 towers at Unitech Vistas whose structures have been built has been awarded but the tender for five towers whose structure is not ready still needs approval from the apex court. We will get it soon,” said Malik.

The two projects got environmental clearance in March of last year. The company said that the tender for these two projects was awarded in November last year but work could not be started due to the ban on construction due to high pollution in the winter months.

Ashok Yadav said that while all efforts are being made to complete these projects, the buyers should ensure that they make their balance payments on time so that construction can be carried out. “The Unitech Vistas project has a deficit of ₹175 crore and this will be overcome by selling land owned by the company. We request the buyers to pay their dues on time to ensure there are no obstacles to construction,” he said.

The Unitech management also said that they would deliver the flats at the same rate at which they were booked in 2009. It also asked buyers to update their contact numbers and email details on the company website.

Yadav said that IIT-Roorkee has done a safety audit of the buildings and the construction plans to ensure that the structural safety of the projects is not compromised.

Referring to problems faced by many Unitech buyers, Yadav said that they have already made a submission in the Supreme Court seeking a direction that banks be asked to disburse loans to Unitech projects which are witnessing a revival. “This matter is in the domain of the Supreme Court but we have made a submission on this matter,” he said.