DLF buys DCM''s 38-acre Delhi property for a record Rs1,675 crore

Mumbai: Real estate major DLF has paid a whopping Rs1,675 crore for acquiring 38 acres of land in west Delhi from DCM Shriram Consolidated (DSCL) and the Lohia Group in the country's most expensive land deal.

The deal surpasses rival Unitech's Rs1,582 crore purchase of 300 acres in Noida last year.

DLF paid Rs44 crore per acre for the land, located 5 km away from New Delhi's central business district of Connaught Place.

The property, known as Swatantra Bharat Mills and DCM Silk Mills, was owned by SBM Land Redevelopment Project while the Lohias held an equal 50 per cent right to each property.

DLF Ltd., India's biggest developer by market value, is spending almost a fifth of the money it raised in an initial share sale two months ago on this single acquisition.

Land prices in and around New Delhi, where DLF has half its land bank, have tripled in three years. DLF already owns 27 acres adjoining its recent purchase. DLF has an in-principle approval to develop an IT SEZ on this land.

With the acquisition of SBM's 38 acres, DLF will have a 65-acre contiguous landbank in Delhi. If the real estate major goes for an integrated township on this land, it will be the largest such project inside a city.

Also, this will probably be the first integrated township of its kind, combining an IT SEZ with a massive housing supply for those working in the SEZ.