SKA Orion to be completed a year before schedule, set to hike prices due to rising input prices says Director Sharma  

During the design stage itself, we have kept a small extra room with an exclusive toilet. It’s a multi-purpose room that has been designed keeping in view that if somebody is working from home, he will get the same environment as in office

We don’t have any loading. Whatever area I am constructing for the public, I am charging for it. I have done the calculation of each and every square feet before starting the project

Overall, the real estate sector has grown very good. I can say that 25 to 30 per cent increase in the sale has come up in 2022. Still, we are getting the same feelings as per the inquiries or feedback

We are very much hopeful that 2023 will also be a decent year for the real estate sector. Definitely, some changes will come, better changes, and we have to change our design style to suit to the current requirement

SKA Orion, the premium residential project of SKA Group, is set to be completed well before time – as much as a year before its scheduled date. Sanjay Sharma, Director of the trusted real estate firms in the NCR, told Realty & More Editor Palash Roy that the construction in all three blocks is going on at a fast pace and he was confident of delivering the project much ahead of its RERA completion date. He is highly bullish about SKA Orion, which is being built using the modern MIVAN technology. Recounting the various USPs of the project, Sharma said SKA Orion has already witnessed 100 per cent appreciation and by the time it is delivered, the price will go up manifold. A seasoned professional with over three decades of experience in construction and engineering, Sharma explained each and every aspect of the project in this exhaustive interview with R&M. Besides being delighted with the growth of the real estate industry in the year gone by, Sharma exuded confidence that it is set to perform even better in the New Year 2023.  The following is the text of the interview:     

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Palash Roy: Tell us about the Orion project – when was it launched and when is it expected to be completed?

Sanjay Sharma: SK Orion at Sector 143-B, Noida, was launched in October 2021 and at this moment we have reached up to 23rd floor in one block. The second block is at 15th floor and the third block’s construction has also started. The RERA completion date for the project is 2026 but going by the current progress, we are very much hopeful that it will be completed well before time; maybe a year before that. Our target is to complete it a year before the scheduled date. 

PR: When you launched the project in 2021, what was the price and at what price are you selling it now? What’s the kind of appreciation, if any? 

SS: See, when we launched the project, it was just the post-Covid time and the market sentiment was very poor. We started at a basic price of around Rs 4,800 and presently we are having a price of around Rs 8,000-plus. There are a number of reasons for this. The basic reason is the increase in the cost of construction, because most of the construction material – steel, cement and PVC etc. – has seen a sharp jump in process post-Covid; and we have to accommodate it. 

As far as our customers are concerned, they got a good appreciation in price during the construction, which is around 100 per cent. As per the development plan of this area and the way we are thinking to complete this project, it will definitely be around Rs 12,000-plus at the time of handover. This is our expectation, you can say. 

PR: How much of the project is already sold out?

SS: We have sold around 60 per cent of the project. This project has three towers, the two towers we have already launched and construction is in full swing. The third tower we launched a month back in which the basement work is going on. 

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PR: Do you plan any price revision from here?

SS: See, the price revision depends upon the market, the price of construction and other things. So at this moment, we are definitely thinking to increase the price because the construction cost is still very high, especially in the finishing items. The price will definitely increase.

PR: And by when do you expect further hike in the price? 

SS: Maybe in a month or two. Two months. Not more than that.

PR: What is the USP of this project?

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SS: As far as the project USP is concerned, we have taken care of a number of things which are not generally available in group housing. This has been done 

keeping in view the work-from-home culture and the changes in living preferences during the Covid time. You are well aware that pet culture has increased during the Covid period. So we have made an exclusive pet shelter with a pet doctor’s facilities and a separate space for pets. 

Secondly, work-from-home is also a very important phenomenon, a regular phenomenon now. During the design stage itself, we have kept a small extra room with an exclusive toilet. It’s a multi-purpose room that has been designed keeping in view that if somebody is working from home, he will get the same environment as in office. It’s a separate room for working from home. Also, we felt that it is a bit boring if you are continuously working from home; so we have planned a beautiful cafeteria with workstation, a high speed Wi-Fi and other facilities at the terrace. If a person gets bored while working at home, he or she can go to that place. It is available at the top floor. The view from that floor will also be excellent. This is another USP.

Apart from that, this is a pre-certified green building. So like natural resources STP recirculation of water, we use of treated water and special glasses for windows so that heat transmission is lesser. We have planned these facilities so that the pressure on natural resources is reduced. 

Also, we are using 100 per cent MIVAN framework. There is no brickwork and plaster in this building. If you see any old building, you will find that the plaster has given away or the brickwork is exposed. The reason is that brickwork and plaster is a comparatively weaker material as compared to concrete. In MIVAN technology, we replace the brickwork and plaster with concrete. We don’t require any plaster. With the help of aluminium formwork, you get very good finishing also. So if you see the durability of the building from the environment point of view, it will be better than the normal construction. And nowadays it is quite famous and useful in this area, particularly in a multi-storey building. The quality control, finishing and the speed of construction is also very good.

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Apart from that, the advantage of this technology is that you don’t need wood, which is not a recyclable material, for the shuttering purpose. Secondly, the requirement of water during construction is also very less. Also, you know that the major problem which the NCR is facing now is dust pollution. In this type of construction, the generation of dust is reduced to 20-30 per cent in comparison to the normal construction. 

So, these are the advantages of using this type of technology. Your finishing is better, your time requirement is less, you are saving water, you are saving a lot of wood and your dust accumulation is less. And from the customer point of view, is the sheer wall concept in this one. There is no column protruding  into your bedroom area or drawing room area. If you see minutely that you have a room and in some corner one column is coming to your entire furniture layout. You have to shift the furniture due to that column. And that particular area is wasted as far as the utility is concerned. So in this type of building, we don’t have any column. It’s a complete RCC wall. You get a smooth surface. You can use the entire area. 

PR: What are the specifications? What are the unit sizes available in the project?

SS: We have four types of units here. One is 1,900 square feet. It’s a beautifully designed three BHK plus study. Or you can say work- from-home room and four toilets and three big balconies. This is the biggest size. We are having another one, which is three BHK, ranging from 1,300 square foot to 1,700 square feet. But most of the flats are 1,900 square feet.

PR: And the rate at which selling is, you are saying, over 8,000?

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SS: Yes, over eight.

PR: This is across the specifications?

SS: Yes, the internal specifications are same for the flats. 

PR: What is the loading here?

SS: We don’t have any loading. Whatever area I am constructing for the public, I am charging for it. I have done the calculation of each and every square feet before starting the project. So, how we are giving it to the customer? This is the area you will get in your flat, that’s number one. The second is the common area you will get on your floor, like for corridor and lift. And this staircase is the extra service shop. Then the third question comes. The common area of the project of the block and your water tanks is terraces, services area and your lobby. All those things come in the common area of the block. After that comes the common area of the project, which includes your club area, your gate, your ESS, your guard rooms or any other public building. Like you can see some play area, prayer room and all these things. So, we combined all this area and calculated what is the total common area of this project. And as per the covered area or carpet area, we proportionately add that area to a particular unit. So, there is no concept of super area sort of thing. We have done the back calculation and we have a justification of each and every square foot of area which we are charging.

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PR: How has the year 2022 been for the industry, particularly for SK?

SS: Fortunately, the preference of the public at large has changed towards housing. They felt that rented home is not that safe during the lockdown period. Secondly, they also felt that a smaller home is not the desired thing because such things can happen in future also. So what we have observed is that first they want to buy their own home and secondly, they want a bigger home. These are the two distinct changes we have noticed. 

Overall, the real estate sector has grown very good. I can say that 25 to 30 per cent increase in the sale has come up in 2022. Still, we are getting the same feelings as per the inquiries or feedback. The year 2023 will also be on the same lines, although there are some economic constraints which we are facing, like rising interest rates or some Government policies. The public sentiment is very positive.

There is one more thing I want to add here. See, from the last two-three years, what we have seen before RERA, this industry was totally unregulated. There was no control, no right of a customer which some agency could protect. After RERA, the customer knows that if a builder does something wrong, he has a platform where he can complain and action will be taken.

So what happened in the longer run is that it has helped the sector. If I am a buyer, I know that now if something wrong happens, RERA is there, it will help me. So my confidence towards under-construction properties has increased. And you can say that it’s a lesson for the developer also. If you want to survive in this business, change yourself; and they are changing. 

I have 20-year experience in the real estate industry and I can see that builder/ developer behaviour towards business has totally changed now. Customers have expectations; there is something called customer delight. There are more demanding customers now because they know their rights. It is pressure on the industry also to improve itself; otherwise the developers know they won’t survive. So things are moving in the right direction. I’m here to do business. I’m not here to go to jail for violating some rules. So, if I have that perception, definitely I will follow everything what RERA has said.  

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What do you think? What you are doing? What do you want to deliver? Please write it down. Please inform to the customer at what time you will hand over, what price you will charge, what area you are charging. What specification you are giving. Do you have all the approvals? The basic thing they are asking if I have everything in black and white, I should put it on the public platform and anybody can see. 

What we are doing is a bit different from what most of the builders are doing. Generally, if you see any brochure, they will give you a complete specification of the flat – what type of flooring, painting and blah-blah you will get. But as far as the common areas are concerned, like club, like your lobbies, like your electrical stations, STP, water tank pump etc. these details are written in a very objective way.  What we are giving at the time of booking is we are giving each and every detail like what would be my club like, its size and it consists of a gym. Coming to finer details, what type of flooring I will use, what type of ceiling I will use after that, what type of equipment and how many equipment I will place in this. Each and every detail we are giving to the customer at the time of booking. Similarly, what is the capacity? What will be the capacity of generator transformer? Pump, pump room, tanks etc. Every detail I am giving in writing.

PR: And finally, how the new year going to be for the real estate sector in India? What are your plans for 2023? 

SS: As per our past experience and the public response which we are receiving, we are very much hopeful that 2023 will also be a decent year for the real estate sector. Definitely, some changes will come, better changes, and we have to change our design style to suit to the current requirement. Pollution is a very big problem, particularly in the NCR area. We are thinking how we can give a pollution-free or less pollution environment to a homebuyer. But technologies are available. This is one challenge we are thinking of. We should overcome it. As far as our plans are concerned, we are planning to launch a few projects this year. I’m hopeful that three projects will be launched; one will be commercial of four lakh square feet and two group housing projects.  

PR: And all these are in which locations?

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SS: It will be in the NCR. We hope to start in Ghaziabad.

PR: Both residential as well as commercial? 

SS: Yes! Till now what we have planned, has happened. Let’s see! Our old project, SK Metro Phase-I we have already delivered. Phase-II will be delivered in two or three months. SKA Greenarch, we have handed over both the phases. SKA Divya Tower, which is in Greater Noida extension, will be completed by this year and that too again, one year before time. We have one more project, Skardi Greens at NH24. Its second phase will also be delivered this year. So we have a delivery of over 3,000 flats in the year2023. 

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