Text and photos: Deepak K Shrestha
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With increasing urbanisation and modernisation, the housing industry in Pokhara is gaining momentum though not as fast as in Kathmandu. Along with tourism, education and the health sector, housing is fast becoming an attractive investment prospect for investors here. In terms of population growth and migration, Pokhara is second only to Kathmandu. However, the community housing business has not grown in the same proportion. Entrepreneurs believe that since it is a new concept, people will take time to get attracted to this concept. However, it is already a seven-year-old industry in Pokhara, with two companies already in it while other two are preparing to enter the fray.
Annapurna Developers Pvt Ltd (with the brand name ‘Fishtail Residency’) and Pokhara Homes Pvt Ltd have started operations already in Gharipatan of Pokhara Sub Metropolitan City. These companies claim to provide facilities at par with the housing complexes in Kathmandu such as good roads, water and power availability as well as health club. This has attracted buyers who have the means and desire to live in such housing complexes. Besides these, Road Show Real Estate Pvt Ltd and Gandaki Real Estate Pvt Ltd have entered this business recently. While the Road show has its project at a location called ‘Deep’ that is in the Ward No 16 of Pokhara Sub-Metropolitan City, Gandaki has its project at Lekhnath Municipality under the brand name ‘Lekhnath Dream Colony’. Investors claim that the consumers have shown significant interest lately for buying such property.
While renowned contractor and industrialist Surya Bahadur KC is the investor for Pokhara Homes Pvt Ltd, Dhruba Kumar Shrestha, Kalu Gurung and Bindu Kumar Thapa are the investors in Fishtail Residency, Road Show and Gandaki Housing respectively.
Pokhara Homes started building houses on 70 ropanis of land about seven years ago but faced adversity for the first few years. Tej Baniya, the Operations Manager of the company said, “We started doing good business only about three-four years ago.†A total of 54 houses were built under phase-I out of which 52 have been sold already. “We are starting phase-II in the next six months which will have 32 units,†Baniya informs. The company sells two-and-a-half-storied bungalows, complete with five bedrooms, built on 8-10 annas of land. Baniya claims that each house costs Rs 9-9.5 million just for the construction. He further says that the mere announcement of phase-II has attracted 17 bookings already. Pokhara Homes is also constructing 20 colonies and 14 separate houses near Chorsanghu in Pokhara. The houses and apartments in this area will be less expensive than the ones in Gharipatan.
All housing companies in Pokhara are conducting business with prior approval from the authorities concerned – i.e. municipality and Pokhara Valley Town Development Committee. “Due to close proximity of Gharipatan area to the airport, we are not allowed to construct buildings higher than two-and-a-half-stories,†says Bhupendra Shrestha, the Marketing Director of Fishtail Residency. The company which started work about four years ago on 21 ropanis of land has already sold 40 of the total 66 units constructed. The buyers have already started residing in 30 of these units, each one a two-and-a-half-storied, four-bedroom bungalow costing over Rs 10 million.
Gandaki Real Estate Pvt Ltd that was primarily dealing in real estate holdings thus far has started constructing housing units on 81 ropanis of land in Talchowk of Lekhnath-8. The company has a target of building 30 units within a year, each unit occupying 5.5-8 annas land and priced between Rs 9 and 15 million.
Suman Kumar Gurung, the Pokhara Branch Manager of Road Show Real Estate said that a total of 108 units will be constructed in Deep of Pokhara-16. The units built on 5-9 annas are targeted at the upper and middle class consumers. The housing complex will have kindergarten, tennis court, swimming pool, cable television, telephone and power generator among other facilities.
The stakeholders of Pokhara’s housing industry include locals as well as the rich from the capital. Nepal Army’s retired general Pyar Jung Thapa and Galaxy School’s founder Gita Rana have already bought properties in the city. Besides the established businessmen, the newly rich people as well as retired soldiers of foreign armies have shown tremendous interest in Pokhara’s community housing units. Gurung says, “Peaceful environment, security and a modern lifestyle is attracting retired professionals immensely.†He adds that the housing industry in Pokhara has a great future because the very name of the city rings a bell in people’s ears since it is considered ‘heaven on earth’. Political instability, the Central Bank’s endless directives and lack of investment climate have affected the housing sector as well. But the housing entrepreneurs remain optimistic that the flourishing housing business outside the Kathmandu Valley will be provided encouragement by the government.
