TPL REIT gets go-ahead for Rs200bn project

A subsidiary of TPL REIT Management Company Ltd has received approval for a master plan to build a gated residential community on 40 acres in Korangi Creek at an estimated cost of “more than Rs200 billion”. The project will be built under the country’s first infrastructure-based real estate investment trust (REIT), which operates like any other property-owning company but offers more transparency to investors. Speaking to Dawn, TPL REIT Management Company CEO Ali Asgher said on Monday the project will offer up to 3,000 residential units in a number of mid- to high-rise creekside towers, some commercial space and a hotel along with amenities like hospitals and schools. All assets under a REIT are controlled by a trustee instead of its majority shareholder. The entity must list on the stock exchange within three years of its financial close, thus letting small investors take exposure to an otherwise capital-intensive real estate market.