Success comes from customers - this belief forms the cornerstone of the Aakriti Group´s foundation. The company has an 18-year track record of trust and reliability with outstanding projects that exemplify architectural brilliance and futuristic lifestyles in Madhya Pradesh. While affordable quality housing is its focus in the residential space, the Aakriti Business Centre has added a new dimension with banking and retail. Hemant Kumar, Chairman & Managing Director, Aakriti Group, shares more with CW on the company´s projects as well as Madhya Pradesh as an investment destination.

The company is aiming for a turnover of Rs 3,000 crore by 2020. What are your strategies to achieve this?
Our current turnover is Rs 300 crore. Considering the expansion and growth we are targeting, Aakriti Group is planning to prepare itself in the following ways:

• Adopt new technology in construction to ensure timely delivery with best quality.
• Reorganise the business to ensure better and timely delivery to customers, scalability of the business, attract the best industry talent and bring in a professional approach. This is a stepping stone towards our commitment to the Aakriti Group: Vision 2020.
• Garner and promote young professionals under the guidance of highly experienced business leaders to cater to future business expansion and invest in training people by sending them to premier institutes.
• Establish better control and monitoring of activities; the company has adopted highly specialised ERP software to cater to future business expansion and growth.
• Strengthen corporate governance and better reporting to stakeholders as a focus area; to align with this manifested philosophy, we have appointed a leading audit firms from Mumbai as statutory auditor of our flagship company.

The group has entered the hospitality segment under the brand name, Calor. What type of projects are you delivering? Also, do you have plans to introduce more brands for other sectors like retail, healthcare and institutional?
Under the brand name Calor, we have come up with three resorts at the tourist hotspots of Kanha, Pachmarhi and Pench. Also, Aakriti Group has a vision to develop a five-star hotel. As for healthcare, we have already come up with Aakriti Nature Cure Centre. This is Central India´s most promising healthcare centre that employs elements solely from ayurveda, naturopathy and yoga. In the institutional sector, to promote education, we launched Sprouts, an Aakriti preschool based on the Montessori education system and we are in process of extending it to a full-fledged 10+2 school.

You are also planning a senior citizens´ township in Bhopal. Please tell us more.
We saw the vibrant need for such a project in Bhopal. Named The Nest, it is in an advanced phase of construction. We will be able to hand over the keys to customers by next year. The Nest has been visualised to create a protective environment where senior citizens can live in tranquillity within infrastructure that specifically caters to their physical, mental and spiritual needs. The sample flat and amenities on display include a library, reception, spacious lounges on every floor (a first in the country), a full-fledged home theatre, and dining room designed as a fine-dining restaurant of world class stature and extremely rich in its furniture and furnishings. No expense has been spared to give these spaces an ´extra-care´ feel.

What senior-friendly design aspects have been planned?
The Nest is a senior citizens´ commune designed under the township Aakriti Eco City. Each apartment is outfitted with handrails; these are also found at strategic locations throughout the complex, including toilets, kitchens and gardens. Each bathroom is fitted with shower seats for the comfort of the resident. Also, the flooring of the entire complex is done in anti-skid tiles. All the specially built wooden furniture, kitchen tiling, marble slabs and rooms have round edges. The entire project is being designed for access for the physically challenged from individual units to common areas. Also, emergency alert systems are being provided in the living area, bedrooms and washrooms. Other facilities include fire detectors for LPG; normal and stretcher elevators; reserved electricity backup for common areas and elevators; emergency lights in every room; landscaped terrace; lounge area on every floor; and a multipurpose hall, which can be used as a home theatre, recreation room or meditation room.

According to a recent survey by CW, Bhopal topped the list of top 20 promising non-metro cities in India....
It´s not just Bhopal. In the recent past, Madhya Pradesh has been able to achieve a superior growth rate of GDP in double digit vis-a-vis growth rate of less than 5 per cent for the country. This was evident at the recent investor summit held in Indore as well, the outcome of which was quite positive. Thus, all these, along with recent positive initiatives by the Central Government, have put Madhya Pradesh at the forefront of economic activities.

In terms of residential projects, what is the buyer preference in Bhopal based on which you deliver projects?
The Bhopal market caters to a variety of customer segments that range from premium residential apartments to affordable segment homes. Considering this, we ensure that in each offering we provide the customer value for investment in terms of quality construction and well-spaced-out architecture.

FACT SHEET

Year of establishment: 1996

Top Management (Promoters): Hemant Kumar, Chairman & Managing Director; Rajeev Soni, Director; Swayam Soni, Director; Anshul Soni, Director

No of Employees: Around 200

Centre of Operation: Bhopal

Turnover: Rs 300 crore

Ongoing projects: The Nest, Aster Royal, Aster Jewel, Aakriti Business Centre, Aakriti Highlands, Aakriti Prime Street, Aakriti Nikunj

Upcoming Projects: Aakriti Kolar City

Completed Projects: Aakriti Eco City, Aakriti Exotica, Aakriti Retreat, Aakriti Gardens

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