AAIM India, a unit of UK real estate group AAIM, has announced its first investment is in a 650,000 m[sup]2[/sup] mixed-use development in the city of Nagpur in Central India. The group said that this is first foreign direct investment in an Integrated Township, established under the Special Township Policy whereby most of the planning decisions are delegated to the development joint venture.

AAIM India, a unit of UK real estate group AAIM, has announced its first investment is in a 650,000 m2 mixed-use development in the city of Nagpur in Central India. The group said that this is first foreign direct investment in an Integrated Township, established under the Special Township Policy whereby most of the planning decisions are delegated to the development joint venture.

The £350mln (EUR 440mln) project comprises 3,000 residences and construction of the first phase is expected to be completed in late 2009. The overall project, in whcih AAIM India is the largest shareholder, will span a period of six years. AAIM's partner in the project is has entered into a joint venture with Aanya, an entity derived from Indian developer Soham Real Estate, for the project.

Nagpur, population of 4 million, was selected as the site for the Indian Government's 4,000-hectare National IT and logistics centre, which is c0urrently in an advanced stage of construction. Anurag Chaturvedi, CEO of AAIM India, commented: 'This is only the second development of its kind in India approved under a new progressive scheme of the government. The commercial attractiveness of the proposed development along with the strong execution capabilities of our partner should provide investors with confidence in our ability to source opportunities that will continue to offer high risk-adjusted returns.'