THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 25 August 2007 — Nonresident Indian businessman P.N.C. Menon, an Omani citizen who ranks 754th on the Forbes list of billionaires, has announced ambitious projects in Kerala, including 600 free apartments for the poor.
Speaking at the Meet-the-Press program of the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club after signing a memorandum of understanding with the state government here to set up Sobha Hi-Tech City in Kochi, he said he now plans to focus more on “corporate social responsibility” than expanding his business.
He will build 600 one-bed, 800-sq ft apartments in the 400-acre Hi-Tec City for the poorest in Maradu village, where the project is coming up, and they would be allotted free with all paraphernalia.
“Hi-Tec City is expected to build something India has not seen and that’s the most exciting part of this project. We wanted to do some social housing and we do it because it’s our responsibility and not charity,” Menon said.
The company plans to complete building these apartments within the first three years and distribute them to the local residents on the basis of their income. The poorest will get priority.
The Rs.50 billion project, first of its kind in India, will be completed by Sobha Developers Limited (SDL) in four phases spread over eight years. Menon is chairman of the Sobha Group, one of India’s leading builders.
“We are one of the most reputable corporate houses in the country and this is no emotional statement. This project will be unusual in terms of employment, housing and social responsibility,” he added.
A well known philanthropist, who had spent three decades in Oman furnishing palaces, Menon had adopted two villages in his native Palakkad district providing them with world-class education and health care facilities, potable water and old age and destitute homes.
“I have made enough money and I don’t feel any thrill in making more money. But when you share what you have with those who do not have them, it gives you immense pleasure and satisfaction. And I believe that should be the way every corporate house should behave,” he said.
The villages that he adopted, Kizhakkencherry and Vadakkancherry with a population of 90,000, now boast of two schools of international standards that follow ICSE syllabus where only children of low-income families are admitted. Some 1,300 students get all three meals, school uniforms and books free of cost besides facilities like swimming pool.
Before adopting these villages, he engaged a group of university students to make a proper profile of education, health care and infrastructure of the villagers. The Rs.3 billion project focuses on areas like education, health care, potable water and employment.
He also started Sobha Hermitage, a home for the old in distress on a 23-acre land, and Sobha Health Care, which is equipped with doctors, paramedics and excellent infrastructure.
Besides, his Sobha Construction Academy gives preference to the economically challenged people. “I’m not doing any favor but it’s my responsibility to the society, social accountability,” he says.
He also sponsored Anju Bobby George for the 2004 Olympics, supported P.T. Usha School of Athletics and makes regular contributions to worthy causes. He created a rehabilitation village for tsunami victims and adopted 20 orphan children, all without much publicity.
Conceived as a special economic zone (SEZ) that is expected to create 75,000 direct jobs, the Sobha Hi-Tech City is the single biggest private investment the state has ever received.
Officials of the government and the Sobha Developers Limited signed the MOU in the presence of Menon and the state’s Commerce and Industry Minister Elamaram Kareem.
The state government has no stake in the project and it has offered no concessions. The MOU however ensures the speedy clearances to expedite the project which is “unique and of world class quality and design.”
“This is a dream come true for me because I have been dreaming about this project for the past four years. This is something that the country would be seeing for the first time,” Menon said.
The project is to include a seven million sq ft knowledge park, shopping malls, hotels, resorts and residential complexes with related infrastructure including a marina.
“We are the only backward integrated infrastructure company in the world. During the past 12 years, we have built five million sq ft residential space and 10 million sq ft technical space. This year’s target is 11 million sq ft and now we now are going to build India’s first fully-integrated, eco-friendly industrial township,” Menon said.
Menon migrated to Oman in 1976 and started an interior decorating business, the Services and Trade Group of Companies (STC) with Brig. Gen. Suleiman Mohamed Yahya Al-Adawi. “I was the first Indian to be given an opportunity to do the palaces of sultans. We are now No. 1 in Oman, UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait,” he said.
In 1995, Menon launched the Sobha Developers, named after his wife, in Bangalore, mainly building campuses of software giant Infosys but took more than a decade to announce his first Kerala venture Sobha City, a 56-acre project, in Thrissur recently.
On his decision to invest in Kerala when most of the investors shy away, Menon said: “When the umbilical cord calls you, you need to pay attention. I’m here to be part of the development in terms of social responsibility as well as business.”
He recently launched a large-sized integrated township in Thrissur developing 56 acres of land. However, he plans to settle down in Dubai after retirement. “I feel I have entered the last square of my life and I feel I should do something different now. Money cannot make any difference in my life but it can do a lot in the lives of other people who are less advantaged,” he said.
The SDL with revenues of Rs.11.89 billion last fiscal year has 29 projects under way, including a mall with an Olympic-size skating rink, shopping complex and amusement park, 192 room plush hotel, convention center, multiplex and smart offices in Bangalore.
The mall will have 4,500 car parking bays in addition to two-wheeler parking and outdoor parking, a discotheque that will accommodate over 1,000 people, plus a variety of other special facilities.
Besides Kerala and Karnataka, the company also has presence in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi. Its land reserves exceed 3,500 acres capable of building over 150 million sq ft.
The company also set a record when its public issue was oversubscribed by 127 times in 2006, the first event of its kind on Indian capital markets. The company also has woodworking unit spread across 360,000 sq ft, glazing and metal works division in 120,000 sq ft and a fully-automated facility for concrete products in eight acres.
It recently forayed into lifestyle products for home needs such as spring mattresses, modular office furniture loose hospitality furniture and housing furniture.
December listing on the Bombay Stock Exchange of Sobha, in which Menon holds 87 percent, made him a billionaire. His wife sits on the board. Son Ravi, an engineer from Purdue University, is the vice chairman.
