By Bimmi Sharma
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Housing business may be mushrooming in the Kathmandu Valley. But the story is different in Birgunj. People with diffent backgrounds find it quite normal to live in separate flats and apartments within the same building in the capital city. But such concept of community living hasn’t gone down well with Birgunj locals. They still prefer to stay separate from people of other religion, caste or culture. It is this mindset that is the major impediment for a flourishing housing industry in the city, lament housing entrepreneurs. They complain of having a difficult time implementing the idea of community housing that was first conceptualised here 14 years ago. So far, all Birgunj could manage are three apartment complexes and a fourth one under construction.
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Nanakchand Ashwani and Shyam Rungta were the first ones to enter the housing business here. They have built two apartment complexes - ‘Ganesh’ and ‘Lakshmi’. These two five-storied apartment complexes have a total of 40 units. The flats at Ganesh were priced at Rs. 900,000 and at Laxmi at Rs 1.35 million per unit. However, these flats remained unsold for a long time.
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Eight years after these attempts, Triveni Group constructed a 10-storied apartment complex ‘Triveni Gopal’ in Birta area of Birgunj. Built at a cost of Rs 50 million by Birendra Sanghai of the Triveni Group, the complex has 72 units in total. Sajjan Kumar Chimariya, the manager of the complex says, “Apartment culture is yet to pick up in Birgunj because people are more comfortable with the idea of building houses on their own land and to enjoy complete ownership.†He adds that the project barely managed to recover the investment and did not yield any profit whatsoever.
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Despite the apartments having all facilities including electricity, water, garden, park and security, people find these rather expensive and inconvenient. Out of the 72 flats in ‘Triveni Gopal’, 50 are occupied while the owners of the rest 22 units haven’t started residing here. They rather want to sell their properties. “The country’s volatile situation is primarily responsible for the lukewarm response towards housing in Birgunj,†says Chimariya. He adds, “There is no future for housing business in Birgunj. It’s advisable that the new entrants don’t enter the market here.â€
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‘Prasanna Apartments’ which came into being a year ago has started getting residents moving in already. Tara Shumsher Rana, a Director of ‘Prasanna’ apartments opines, “The housing business is experiencing a low right now but it has a good future in Birgunj due to the impending development of infrastructure in and around this city.†The construction of Nijgadh International Airport close to Birgunj, Kathmandu-Nijgadh Fast Track Road, Integrated Customs Checkpoint, Birgunj-Thori Road, Birgunj University and a well developed agriculture market are bound to make Birgunj a more attractive place to live. These developments will have a positive impact on the housing industry, opines Rana. His company Prasanna Constructions is in the business of constructing buildings for its clients for 25 years now. Built at an investment of Rs 50 million, ‘Prasanna Apartments’ has 20 flats altogether and costs anything between Rs 3.2-4 million. Of the 20 flats, only thee are remaining to be sold, Rana informs. “Though the present situation is not conducive, once there is political stability and economic progress begins, housing business in Birgunj will definitely flourish,†Rana says optimistically.
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Ashok Kumar Baid, an industrialist who owns Shalimar Cement has joined the housing business and plans to build ‘Kamdhenu Apartment Homes’ using the ‘Kamadhenu’ brand under franchise from the Indian owner of the brand. To be constructed at an investment of Rs 800 million, this 12-storied apartment with 134 units will be ready for occupancy in two years’ time. Each flat in this ‘first apartment complex of international standard in Birgunj’, as the developer calls it, will cost Rs 7-8 million. “Interested buyers will need to pay 20 per cent of the total amount upfront. The facilities include swimming pool, health club, gym, park, garden and provision store,†says Baid. He says he is confident of selling all the units of his project which will come up at Ward 13, Adarshanagar in Birgunj. Like Rana, Baid too is optimistic that housing industry in Birgunj will grow as various developments are taking place in and around Birgunj. He says, “Birgunj is a leading business destination and the development projects being implemented in and around here will definitely benefit the housing industry as well as other businesses.â€
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‘Kamdhenu Apartment Homes’ will be the fourth apartment complex in Birgunj. The previous three apartment houses have a collecgive investment of Rs 150 million. When the investment proposed for Kamadhenu and some other projects that are in the pipeline are added up, the total investment goes up to Rs. 1 billion. Ashok Kumar Temani, the President of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry is upbeat about the business potential of apartment complexes. “In the future, Birgunj will be like Shanghai or Mumbai. Once the projects which are being constructed at break-neck speed are completed, we will see skilled workers flocking to this city for work,†Temani predicts. He continues, “These people’s housing requirements ensure a bright future for the housing industry here.â€
