Twin towers demolition: Supertech says it lost Rs 500 cr

NEW DELHI: Realty firm Supertech Ltd has incurred a loss of about Rs 500 crore, including construction and interest costs, because of the demolition of its twin towers in Noida, the company's Chairman R K Arora said on Sunday.

The nearly 100-metre-tall twin towers -- Apex and Ceyane -- were demolished at 2.30 pm on Sunday as per a Supreme Court order that found their construction within Emerald Court premises in violation of norms. More than 3,700 kgs of explosives were used in this operation. The cost of the demolition itself is estimated at about Rs 20 crore.

"Our overall loss is around Rs 500 crore, taking into account the amount we have spent on land and construction cost, the charges paid to authorities for various approvals, interest paid to banks over the years and the 12 per cent interest paid back to buyers of these two towers, among other costs," Arora told PTI.

These twin towers were part of Supertech's Emarald Court project at Sector 93 A on Noida Expressway. The current market value of over 900 apartments in the two towers is being estimated at over Rs 700 crore.

Arora said the total built up area in these two towers was around 8 lakh square feet.

"We constructed these towers as per the building plan approved by the Noida development authority," he added.

Asked about the demolition cost, Arora said Supertech is paying Rs 17.5 crore to Edifice Engineering, which was tasked with safely pulling down the structures, including the premium amount for a Rs 100-crore insurance cover. In addition, there are several other costs associated with the demolition.

Edifice had roped in South African experts Jet Demolitions for the project.

In August last year, the Supreme Court had ordered demolition of the twin towers and directed that the entire amount of homebuyers has to be refunded with 12 per cent interest from the time of the booking.

The apex court has also ordered that the Residents Welfare Association be paid Rs 2 crore for the harassment caused due to the construction of the twin towers.

The court had said the construction of Supertech's twin 40-storey towers having 915 flats and 21 shops was done in collusion with the Noida Authority.

Separately, Supertech said in a statement that the demolition would not impact its other projects,

"We have completed and given delivery of more than 70,000 units to homebuyers and are committed to give delivery to remaining homebuyers as per schedule time frame. We assure all our home buyers that the order of Supreme Court will not affect any other ongoing project and all other projects will continue," it added.