A missing link in skyscrapercity. promoted by founder of hotmail (guess who?) and designed by a bunch of college students. it is the best tech city in asia. but most of all these college students make most indian architects look like shit. SORRY!
go to nanocity.in

the website looks cheap and amateurish.
looks like another one of those big promises which does not deliver.
SORRY

i-design,
I have had a whole bunch of links and resources on nano city for a while now, however, this project is way to early in the design stage right now. All that has been done is some general visions and idea brainstorms -- none of which are design proposals. So all the renderings, layouts, etc. that are there simply may not be a part of the final product.

It is a very ambitious project, but I think that unless its taken to the next stage, there really isn't much to report.

If anyone is interested, here's the website:
http://www2.arch.ced.berkeley.edu/courses/arch201_nanocity/?page_id=62

http://www.nanocity.in

Sabeer Bhatia gave a presentation on Nanocity at the USF Center for the Pacific Rim in San Francisco on Feb 6th. I found a video of it and uploaded it on google video since it's >100mb and >10mins in length which is the max limit of youtube videos.

VIDEO--> http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6905741944251408823&hl=en

He explains the design and vision of the city. He also mentions that there will be a development code employed by the designers of nanocity. That means that the individual property developers will first have to get their designs of the facade approved before they construct anything.

Well I am aware of all this information. However if this project does go online it will change the face of north india.
Sabeer Bhatia is pushing for investment from US tech investors from silicon valley. If such venture "tech" capitalist join and promote this project then the quality of urban development in india will change drastically. there are very few companies in india like unitech who have the vision and the brains to build such a city.

Definitely, Nanocity is probably the biggest private planned city under development in north India, with an far-reaching ideal of true sustainability. Its success will have a positive and significant effect on future projects in India. BTW, does anyone know, does this have SEZ status?

Anyway, for the heck of it, here are some pictures from one of Nanocity's design concepts, which give an idea of the ambitiousness and scale of this project:
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/3124/01fb8.jpg

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/715/02ht4.jpg

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4595/03en0.jpg

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/7974/04my4.jpg

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/1097/05eu8.jpg

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/8279/06pr8.jpg


Now before anyone gets hysterical, remember, these are just design concepts, not actual architectural plans. The Nanocity concept is one of strategic urban planning -- meaning individual developers will, as IU said, develop individual plots within the city, using their own architects and designs. Just that the Nanocity planning committee will get to approve the architecture to ensure compliance with the planning model and, I'd assume, quality of architecture.

What this means is real organic city growth based on market considerations and with a view toward discernibility and organized development that will be hopefully replicated in other Indian cities. In this model, a real cityscape will develop with a real skyline -- not like Dubai or other India cities' simcity-like megaprojects where fifty buildings are all done by one architect or developer. A real skyline is jumbled, organic, natural looking -- like Chicago or even Mumbai -- something I fear a lot of CBD-type projects, like that of Hyderabad, GIFT or Noida, may not be.

Anyway, check out the berkley.edu site posted earlier for full design proposals by a variety of non-profit and academic groups.

Cheers,
Jai

Is this project costing around Rs 50,000 crore's ?

I encourage people to check out the video posted by IU. It is about an hour long (~30 min presentation by Bhatia followed by a 30 minute interview with Bhatia)

For those who don't have the time to see it (I only have time to see the presentation -- I'll check out the interview later), I've compiled the salient points of is presentation:

- Location -- right outside Chandigarh
http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/9056/vlcsnap9194529hx2.png
- Size: 11 thousand acres (2/3) of Manhattan or the entire peninsula of Mumbai
- Will be a green city -- preserving the local greenery and ecological environment
- Will be a flexible city -- able to adapt in plan to the changing needs of the population
- Will be a diverse city -- all-encompassing development not focusing on one industry, modeled on San Francisco or Silicon Valley

- Will have grid system -- be pedestrian friendly downtown areas have smaller grid size, residential areas have car-friendly larger grids
- More than 50% of the city will be green belts -- 25% being public land and 25% in the courtyard and tree-lines, so that no point in the city will be more than a 1/4 mile radius from any green spot

- Will include BRT system that will be as efficient as a metro system but a fraction of the cost, but with open architecture that will easily allow the BRT to be converted into a metro system if the need arises
- Roads will be wide, tree-shaded with large 5m pedestrian walkways with the option of awnings
- Water resource management will use a system called the "Living Machine" designed at Berkeley, that will naturally recycle water and replenish natural aquifers
- Energy production will maximize renewable sources

- Private Real Estate developent will fund the development of the city
- Phase 1 will be 300 acres including a university, golf course, IT companies, high school, entertainment center, a shopping district modeled after Santana Row, etc. that will sustain a population of 5-10 thousand people
- The first phase of the city is the basis for what he calls this "placeholder":
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/7974/04my4.jpg
- Another placeholder showing an "IT company or two", the international school and university:
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/1097/05eu8.jpg
- And the whole first phase including the golf course:
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/8279/06pr8.jpg
- Housing will be designed to optimally use the land -- encourages intensification and verticalization

- Goal is NOT to develop entire city by themselves -- they are not real estate developers
- Will enforce a code for development -- taking a job that state/municipal planning would do. Is part of the agreement they were able to extract from Haryana govt
- Ha! Bhatia totally rips into Le Corbusier, calling Chandigarh 'uninspired' and criticizing the way planning authorities "stick to his plan like it was written in stone" -- you're preaching to the choir buddy :) Though he also gives props in that C'garh is a planned city and is cleaner than other unplanned cities in India
- Will give developers the right to develop different pieces of land but only according to the Nanocity code -- but will leave plots up to the creativity of those designing plots
- Will encourage mixed-use development, again modeled after Santana Row
- Bhatia then shows the Nanocity video with some background. It is only an example of how the city could look. He stresses that the architecture of the city will not be designed by them, that it will be designed by the "creativity" of "individual developers", and that these buildings are merely "placeholders." He explains that the 3D model seen in the video is accurately developed from the city master and zoning plan his team has developed:
8a4iHE-Jy5Q

Cheers,
Jai

Speechless! :rock:

Here's a little blurb on Nanocity from Construction World Magazine, including costs
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/9471/image2nv2.jpg

edit-cropped :)

The city is only for 5-10 thousand people, from the pictures I was thinking 100,000 people.

The city is only for 5-10 thousand people, from the pictures I was thinking 100,000 people.
uh... dude, that's only the first phase, which makes up less than 3% of the entire project

The project is designed to house over a hundred thousand people ;)

Thanks JAI for the belief

yeah give it 50 more years and probably the whole project will come to fruition.
growth of cities like these need to be organic like silicon valley. silicon valley was not decided upon on one fine day by a dude in a suit giving a powerpoint presentation.

Is this project approved by the government?

yes

Yes, the government of harayana has signed an MoU with the Sabeer Bhatia Group. The projected amount of investment would be around 1.5 billion dollars. This fiqure i am not sure of! However HUDA did give a projected amount of investment of around 1000crores+. Read last months edition of business today (See article on harayana), it did have some few lines on this project and its proposed investment plan.

from Nanocity's website, here are some images of the site where Nanocity will come up:

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/3701/nanocitygallery0003hw2.jpg

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/9772/nanocitygallery0012uo7.jpg

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/2986/nanocitygallery0002wm9.jpg

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/2978/nanocitygallery0006xy8.jpg

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/2364/nanocitygallery0009ub3.jpg

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/4351/nanocitygallery0010sw7.jpg

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/6443/nanocitygallery0021hi1.jpg

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/1619/nanocitygallery0013gk9.jpg

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/7628/nanocitygallery0014ye6.jpg

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/2134/nanocitygallery0016gn0.jpg

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/9875/nanocitygallery0017ko2.jpg

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/5683/nanocitygallery0018do1.jpg

Parsvnath close to deal for Nanocity (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News_by_Industry/Parsvnath_close_to_deal_for_Nanocity/articleshow/3054632.cms)


It is learnt that the NHIL is in the advance stages to acquire around 500 acres for the project in district Panchkula, 20 km east of Chandigarh.

The knowledge city will deal in future technologies like nano-technology, biosciences, software product development, next generation Internet products, materials research and energy. As per the masterplan prepared by the College of Environment Design, University of California, Berkeley, 50% of the total land will be earmarked as parks and open space

“The masterplan that invoked wide admiration of professors and architects in Berkeley University has been introduced as a topic in a post graduate semester on new cities in the University,” according to a state official. The entire project will be split into four districts: IT, university, airport and biotech.

As per plans an area of about 5,000 acres would be covered under the phase-I whereas as rest of the land is supposed to be utilised in the second phase.

@devil...stick that in your pipe and smoke it!

some more details on Parsvnath's deal for a stake in Nanocity:

Parsvnath may buy 30% in Nano City (http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?autono=324416&leftnm=1&subLeft=0&chkFlg=)

Sabeer Bhatia, founder of hotmail, may give some concrete shape to his proposed Nano City project, to be set up near Panchkula in Haryana, on June 9, when he visits India to finalise equity structure with real-estate player Parsvnath Developers.

According to sources, Parsvnath is likely to buy 30 per cent stake for Rs 555 crore in the high-profile Nano City project, The project cost is pegged at Rs 1,850 crore. However, officials from Parsvnath refused to comment on the development.

Sabeer Bhatia, chairman, Nano Work Developers, holds 90 per cent stake in the Nano City project, a joint venture of Nano Work Developers with Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIIDC), and rest is lying with HSIIDC.

The sources also said that the company has not given any development rights to private builders as of now, and it is planning to float tenders for issuing the development rights, once the land purchase is over.

Parsvnath to hold 38% in Sabeer Bhatia's Nanocity (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Services/Parsvnath_to_hold_38_in_Sabeer_Bhatias_Nanocity/articleshow/3146770.cms)


CHANDIGARH: Finally its official. Delhi-based realtor Parsvnath Developers will hold 38% stake in the Rs 1,800-crore Nanocity project.

The company would be subscribing to the capital of Nanocity, which is a joint venture between Sabeer Bhatia and Parsvnath Developers. Nanocity will have projects relating to nano-technology, biosciences, software product development, materials research etc.

A new company, Nanoworks, would also be set up, which would raise money through an IPO, expected to be in the region of Rs 1,000-1,200 crore.

Bhatia is expected to land in India next week to sign an MoU with Parsvnath Developers.

However, Parsvnath has denied any such development. When asked about the development, company advisor PK Jain said, “I am not aware of any such development. May be, you know more.”

The Nanocity project, spread over 11,138 acres, is modelled on the Silicon Valley and will come up in two phases.
Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) and Nano Works Developers (P) Ltd had signed a joint venture to set up the knowledge city in Panchkula district in November, 2006.

Parsvnath to hold 38% in Sabeer Bhatia's Nanocity (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Services/Parsvnath_to_hold_38_in_Sabeer_Bhatias_Nanocity/articleshow/3146770.cms)

However, Parsvnath has denied any such development. When asked about the development, company advisor PK Jain said, “I am not aware of any such development. May be, you know more.”

He finally admitted the tie up -

Parsvnath confirms tie-up with Sabeer Bhatia's Nanocity (http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEB20080620074611&Title=Business&rLink=0)

NEW DELHI: After days of denial and speculations, Delhi-based realtor Parsvnath has acknowledged its tie-up with the Sabeer Bhatia-promoted Rs 18 billion Nanocity project, to be built on the lines of Silicon Valley in the US.

“We are not denying the news. The talks are on between the two companies and the official announcement will come in after the formal agreement is signed,” Pradeep Jain of Parsvnath Developers told IANS Friday.
...

edited

When asked about the development, company advisor PK Jain said, “I am not aware of any such development. May be, you know more.”

:rofl:

Oh man i find this hilarious!

Parsvnath to hold 38% in Sabeer Bhatia's Nanocity (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Services/Parsvnath_to_hold_38_in_Sabeer_Bhatias_Nanocity/articleshow/3146770.cms)

He finally admitted the tie up -

Parsvnath confirms tie-up with Sabeer Bhatia's Nanocity (http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEB20080620074611&Title=Business&rLink=0)

and finally


Parsvanath picks 38 percent stake in Nano City


Realty major Parsvanath Developers has picked up a 38 percent stake in entrepreneur Sabeer Bhatia's much-hyped Nano City Haryana project, the company said here Wednesday.

Parsvanath will invest Rs.4 billion ($100 million), as equity and debt in Nano City Haryana Ltd.

The project, valued at $12 billion, will be completed in 10 years. Parsvanath will develop 5,000 acres of the 11,000-acre mega-project in the first phase.

The Bhatia-promoted Nano City group will hold 52 percent in the company, and the rest will be with the Haryana government.

At an interaction with reporters, Bhatia said Nano City will be the future model of infrastructure development in the country as it shifts from a service-based economy to knowledge-based economy.

"Nano-technology is the future, and this city will host dozens of high-tech research-oriented projects on the Silicon Valley model," he said.

source economictimes.com (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Services/Parsvanath_picks_38_percent_stake_in_Nano_City/articleshow/3241166.cms)

Parsvnath Developers, Sabeer Bhatia to develop a knowledge city in Chandigarh (http://www.topnews.in/parsvnath-developers-sabeer-bhatia-develop-knowledge-city-chandigarh-253080)

Realty estate major Parsvnath Developers has joined hands with Sabeer Bhatia, co-founder of Hotmail, to develop a 11,138 acres knowledge city near Chandigarh.

The project, which is fully approved by Haryana Government, is in Panchkula near Chandigarh, and Just over 200 kms north of Delhi. The city named as "Parsvnath Nanocity" is envisaged to sustain modern lifestyle and will have world- class infrastructure.

In this public-private partnership project, which is valued at Rs 5000 crore, the Haryana government will hold 10% equity stake, Parsvnath developers will have 38% and the balance 52% stake will be held by Sabeer Bhatia promoted group.

The developer plans to raise funds for the project through a mix of debt and an IPO within 18-24 month for completing the project.

The project is scheduled to be completed in two phases over the next 10 years, where the Parsvnath plans to develop 5,000 acres in the first phase.
The company has already acquired about 1,500 acres and presently in talks with various land owners for acquiring the rest.

Parsvnath Developers, Sabeer Bhatia to develop a knowledge city in Chandigarh (http://www.topnews.in/parsvnath-developers-sabeer-bhatia-develop-knowledge-city-chandigarh-253080)

Its already been a year and we dont see any developments being made there.
If the Phase II would take 10 years, then Sabeer Bhatia is really dreaming about this project.
He has to implement things at a faster pace, there is no connecting airport to this Nanocity, for people to invest and live here, there has to be hotels, hospitals, schools, colleges, malls, shopping etc...He just cant take people for a ride.

^^^ International airport in Mohali is 8 kms away which is under implementation. This place is 7 kms away from chasndigarh

Its already been a year and we dont see any developments being made there.
If the Phase II would take 10 years, then Sabeer Bhatia is really dreaming about this project.
He has to implement things at a faster pace, there is no connecting airport to this Nanocity, for people to invest and live here, there has to be hotels, hospitals, schools, colleges, malls, shopping etc...He just cant take people for a ride.

oh no you didn't!
now wait for jai and his comrades to create a 500 word post on why this project "will" materialize.

Good read>>> S.F. tech mogul wants to build city in India (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/11/MN9S120S1G.DTL)

oh no you didn't!
now wait for jai and his comrades to create a 500 word post on why this project "will" materialize.
As opposed to your mincing whines and tearful one-liners?

Planned India complex stymied by credit crunch (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/14/BUK614N30R.DTL&type=tech)


Andrew S. Ross
Monday, December 15, 2008

Thanks to the U.S.-originated credit crunch, India is going to have to wait to see its most advanced city spring to life. Nano City, the brainchild of Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia, was well on its way to its groundbreaking, financed largely by $300 million Bhatia thought he was going to get from enthused Indian banks. That was before the global roof caved in. "No bank in the world is going to lend that kind of money now," says Bhatia.
Bottom Line

The $5 billion Silicon Valley-style development, in the northern state of Haryana, was supposed to see the first of its projected half-a-million people, plus its first university and small businesses, by 2010. The city's master plan, drawn up by UC students and professors with the Berkeley Group for Architecture and Planning, incorporates the modern day sine qua non principles of sustainability, alternative energy, open space and modern mass transit. All features in which India, for all its IT prowess and superpower aspirations, is notably lacking.

So, now what? Bhatia is talking to investment companies outside India, like 3i, the giant British private equity firm, whose India Infrastructure Fund raised $1.2 billion earlier this year. Meanwhile, Nano City has been pushed back at least a year, maybe longer, says Bhatia, who lives in San Francisco. "We're in a pattern of wait and see. We're hoping the markets will start flowing again some time next year." But his dream remains very much alive. "It's a very viable project," says the man who sold Hotmail to Microsoft for $400 million and has invested $10 million-plus of his own money in Nano City. "There is enormous need and demand in India for this kind of thing."

^^Damn. Would have been great if this started construction.

Just noticed this thread and im a bit confused.

Sabeer Bhatia's last comments about the Haryana NanoCity were on Dec 15th 08, talking about how this project is going to be delayed and how loans are not going to be possible...

But about a month later, 12 Jan 09, at the Vibrant Gujarat summit he was talking about developing a NanoCity in Gujarat

Co-Founder of Hotmail has plans to develop Gujarat as Silicon Valley (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/Internet_/Co-founder_Hotmail_has_plans_to_develop_Guj_as_silicon_valley/articleshow/3969859.cms)

AHMEDABAD: Hotmail Co-founder Sabeer Bhatia on Monday said he looks toward cultural innovation in Gujarat and has plans to develop the state as the next Silicon Valley.

"We have got Letter of Intent (LoI) from Carneige Mellon University for setting up a Nano city that will have software development facility for niche sectors such as nano technology, bio-sciences and material sciences," Bhatia said, during the inauguration of Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit which began here today.

"With world class infrastructure here and support of the Gujarat government, we can make the state as next Silicon Valley of India by setting up a Nano city here," Bhatia said.

Sharing his experiences on emergence of silicon valley decades ago, Bhatia said the innovation at that time had led to phenomenal creation of value, and the model could be replicated here.

"Five decades ago Hewlett Packard created a small hub outside Standford that led to the birth of Silicon Valley, and in the last 10 years I have seen 1 trillion dollar of value being created because of cultural innovation," he added.

"India has huge potential for it, with a population of 1.2 billion people we create around half-a-million engineers annually, but somehow they are not able to make to make it to top echelons in key innovative hubs, therefore we need a nano city," Bhatia said.

The innovation can come through education and the Nano city will play a key role in software development for niche segments.


Does this mean the one in Haryana is off? Or in one month has he managed to find the money to build not just one but two of these NanoCities!?

In part response to my own question... it seems as though Parsvnath are pulling out of the NanoCity project

Firstly, on 17th March:

Sabeer Bhatias NanoCitiy project hits roadblock (http://profit.ndtv.com/2009/03/16224804/Sabeer-Bhatias-Nano-City-proj.html)

As the credit crunch worsens for realty developers, the latest project to bite the dust is Parsvnath and Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia’s proposed 11,000 acre IT hub called the Nano City at Naraingarh in Panchkula district in Haryana.

NDTV has learnt that Bhatia's partner Delhi-based real estate player Parsvnath Developers may pull out of the project, but the developer has denied any such plans.

"We wish to clarify that Parsvnath Developers Limited has no intentions of pulling out of the prestigious Nano City Project," Parsvnath Developers said in a statement.

Sources in Haryana government say Parsvnath has hinted towards pulling out of the project, which is expected to be worth Rs 50,000 crore.
While Bhatia owns the majority 52 per cent in the proposed project, the real estate major holds 38 per cent and the state government as its 10 per cent partner.

The blame game has already begun as Parsvnath says state government has failed to give contiguous land while government officials say they were to provide 25 per cent of the total land and that too, after the Parsvnath had acquired its share of land.

“As a matter of policy, acquisition of land has to be done by the private developers on a willing-buyer willing seller model. We are in regular touch with the developers. It's a prestigious project for the people of Haryana. There may be minor glitches here and there, but we are confident that the project will sail through,” said Shiv Bhatia, spokesperson of Haryana Government.

Ever since Parsvnath bought a stake in the project there have been concerns on the funding part as the investment coincided with a decline in real estate values and a sector wide slowdown.

Parsvnath's only consolation here could be that it has invested only about Rs 100 crore in the project so far and it can still jump out of it.

and then on 31st March

Snippet here also (http://profit.ndtv.com/2009/03/31204326/Parsvnath-plans-to-hive-off-me.html)

The restructuring is clearly aimed at generating cash flows
for the Delhi-based real estate company, which has been facing fund crunch.

Recently, the company backed out from the ambitious Nano City project in Haryana for the same reason. Malls on metro stations are one business that Parsvnath hopes to leverage from.

I wonder, if the reports from the Vibrant Gujarat Summit turn out to be true, could this be the second "Nano" shift to Gujarat?

In essence, this whole project is probably quite easily transferrable to another location provided that enough land is available... which is rarely an issue in Gujarat.

Well i think they have pulled out from this project ... what you guys think ...ummmm

I think a few of us saw this coming...

Knowledge Cities on Hold over Land-Acquisition (http://www.livemint.com/2009/05/10212234/Knowledge-cities-on-hold-over.html?pg=1)

Sabeer Bhatia, a millionaire investor best know for founding free email service Hotmail, has proposed a knowledge city near Chandigarh and another in Dholera, Gujarat;

The Bhatia projects have been shelved as the developers and entrepreneurs involved are now shying from such long gestation projects because of delays in acquiring land and a severe cash crunch in the real estate industry triggered by the global slowdown.

Knowledge cities typically are enclosures of research-based industries and educational institutes, a physical bridging of industry and academics. In India, though, these projects have evolved as real estate ventures on large agricultural land parcels, primarily as partnerships involving state governments, realty developers and entrepreneurs trying to cash in on the property boom of the past few years.

Globally, knowledge cities are planned with a focus on research and development as in Singapore, Hsinchu in Taiwan, and in Silicon Valley, US, said Rajdeep Sahrawat, vice-president, National Association of Software and Services Companies, better known as Nasscom, an industry lobby.

“Building knowledge cities is not developing big, gated communities or IT parks. They should be ecosystems involving industries, commercialized research and development activity along with academic centres. That has not been the focus here (in India),” said Sahrawat in a phone interview. “Knowledge cities are at a nascent stage in India and the challenge would be to resist making real estate projects out of them.”

Bhatia’s proposed Nano City Haryana Ltd, an 11,000-acre knowledge city near Chandigarh in partnership with the Haryana government, is modelled on Silicon Valley but it too has hit the same hurdles the other projects have.
“We’ve encountered delays because of land acquisition issues,” Bhatia said by email on Friday. “There is a general economic slowdown in the world today, but we’re confident that we will come out of this well.”

The project was projected as a 10-year venture with an initial investment of Rs400 crore for companies involved in software development, nanotechnology, drug discovery, bio-technology, energy research and semiconductor research. Bhatia has a 52% stake in it, the Haryana government holds 10% and Parsvnath Developers Ltd, the remaining 38%.

Pradeep Jain, chairman of Parsvnath Developers, admits his company doesn’t have experience in developing a knowledge city, and they got into the project because it was an attractive deal. “(But) everyone is sceptical about long-term investment returns now and no one wants to block cash flow. Even though the project is fully sanctioned, you need money to acquire the land from farmers. And even if we acquire the land, there is no guarantee of its offtake,” said Jain.

The full article sounds the death-knell of between 4-6 of these projects, and is worth a read if you take that much disappointment in one sitting!!! :ohno:

Well i think they have pulled out from this project ... what you guys think ...ummmm

Eh we'll give it some time. Though there hasn't been much good news about this.

Dude... read the article... its been shelved!

Thank the economic crisis for this...

Let's hope when the economy corrects itself soon

Aaww heck. Damn economic crisis. Best project in Northern India gone :(.

They beter take down their website. Wonde why they've no said anything about it in their website.

With the global economy showing signs of recovery (well, apart from the last few weeks...)

Looks like this project may be back from the dead with a new foreign investor on board

Foreign partner likely to pump 1 bn into NanoCity Project (http://www.financialexpress.com/news/foreign-partner-likely-to-pum4p-1-bn-into-nano-city-project/575144/1)

Hotmail man Sabeer Bhatia’s most ambitious project, Nano City, proposed to be developed at Raipur Rani in Haryana, is likely to rope in a foreign partner soon.

Touted as one of the biggest infrastructure projects of the country (with projected investment of Rs 50,000 crore) Nano City’s new foreign investor will be finalised in 45 days. Sources in Nano City Haryana Infrastructure (SPV for the project) informed FE that the foreign partner may pump investment to the tune of $1 billion into the project. In July, 2008 the promoters of Nano City had offloaded 38% stake to Parsvnath Developers that had planned to invest Rs 400 crore as equity and debt in the project. However speculations are on that Bhatia’s company may buy back shares from Parsvnath later this year.

“Talks with the foreign investor are going on and the modalities are yet to be worked out regarding the equity stake, investment etc. Things are expected to be finalised within 45 days from now,” Naval Bhatia, MD, Nano City Haryana Infrastructure told FE.

Being a public-private partnership project, at present Haryana government through Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) owns 10% equity stake in the SPV, Parsvnath Developers has 38% equity stake and the remaining 52% is owned by Sabeer Bhatia promoted group.

Nano city which will be spread over 11,000 acres will cover about 23 villages under its purview. The company is in the process of verifying the title deeds of about 284 acres of land close to the hills and the acquisition is expected to kickstart once the deal with the foreign partner is sealed. Bhatia added further, “We do not want any forced acquisition of land. We are offering about Rs 15-20 lakh per acre on an average to the farmers alongwith various other benefits. If they are willing to give away land at the prices being offered by us then only we will go ahead and buy the land. Efforts are on to acquire the land in contiguity before approaching HSIIDC for the same.”

The company plans to develop 5,000 acre over five years and the rest would be developed in the second phase. The company will be forming specific area-based SPVs in future to develop areas like bio-technology parks, hospitals, universities, schools etc for the knowledge city and is confident of attracting good investments across the globe. The project is expected to attract world-class companies involved in the creation of Intellectual Property. It is viewed as a future hub for the companies operating in areas such as software development, nano sciences, next generation drug discovery, among others.

NanoCity on lines of Silicon Valley in Haryana (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Nano-City-on-lines-of-Silicon-Valley-in-Haryana/articleshow/5527236.cms)

Hotmail creator Sabeer Bhatia-promoted knowledge city project, Nano City, is in talks with a foreign venture capital firm to be a part of it.

"We are in dialogue with a foreign-based company, which will invest in the project (Nano City) as well as develop the same through its subsidiary company," Nano City Haryana Infrastructure Ltd Managing Director Naval Bhatia said on Tuesday.

However, he declined to divulge any detail regarding the company and its investment. "We hope the outcome of the talks will be out soon," he said.

Modelled on the Silicon Valley of the US, Nano City is proposed to be developed on 11,000 acres of land at Panchkula in Haryana and will come up in phases.

Expected to be completed in 10 years, the project seeks to attract world-class companies involved in creation of intellectual property, particularly those involved in software development, nano sciences, drug discovery, bio-technology, energy research and semiconductor research. It would also boast of a university and an airport.

In the first phase, the company would develop 5,000 acres of land over 5 years and the rest would be developed in the second phase.

However, the company has not seen much progress with regard to land acquisition since the project's announcement in 2006.

"We have been facing problems in land acquisition as some farmers are willing to sell land and some are not...and we are against forcible land acquisition for the project," he said.

When asked about the land to be acquired for the project, Bhatia said the company was expecting to get 1,000 acres of land within the next three months.

"We have already signed an agreement with farmers for buying 284 acres of land and in the next three months we will have 1,000 acres of land," he said.

Real estate company Parsvnath Developers Ltd had picked up 38 per cent stake in Nano City project in July 2008, with a proposed investment of Rs 400 crore as equity and debt.

In this public-private partnership, state owned Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) has 10 per cent stake, while 52 per cent lies with promoter Sabeer Bhatia.

I guess more will be revealed after the middle of March?

Man I hope this gets back on track.

Who knows, maybe even other projects cancelled during the slowdown may make a comeback?

Bidadi Knowledge City nr Bangalore, Anantapur Project in AP etc etc...

No Project at Namma Bangaluru is stopped or cancelled , we are the fastest growing ,garden city where slowdown fears to come

Who knows, maybe even other projects cancelled during the slowdown may make a comeback?

Bidadi Knowledge City nr Bangalore, Anantapur Project in AP etc etc...

^^ Plz dont bring ur commumal feelings into this. GJ10 has made just a casual statement. i dono wether this BIDADI city was cancelled or not, but this is not the right place to discuss "Wether SLOWDOWN FEARS TO COME TO BANGALORE OR NOT"....any such discussion can be cotinued in CHAI BAR..

kp.muthu99, please calm down and read through this thread that is still located in the Bangalore Folder.

Bidadi Knowledge City (New Bangalore) (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=637645)

This was a massively exciting project that I know very well was scrapped, as I remember posting the article myself

Vignu, thanks for being so polite about it, but yes, if you check the link, there was confirmation almost a year ago that the Bidadi project was scrapped at the same time as NanoCity originally was, hence why i mentioned it.

died again :|

Nano City project called off (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Nano-City-project-called-off/643290/)

The much-ambitious project of the state government Nano City has been called off. With the main investor Sabeer Bhatia failing to show any interest, the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructural Corporation (HSIIDC) is now mulling new avenues.

The HSIIDC never heard from Bhatia again after communicating a deal with him in June. There are rumours that the corporation is looking for fresh investors for industrial development ranging from IT to pharmaceuticals.

A senior official said, “Sabeer Bhatia’s attitude towards it clearly indicates that he is not interested, so we have decided to explore other avenues.” The corporation was hopeful that the ‘warning’ of a final deadline would evoke some action.

Apart from denting the government of its economic development and placing the township on the map of IT hubs, the project has also dashed the hopes of farmers along with the property dealers who were anticipating selling the land at skyrocketing prices. “The land would have easily been sold to generate money. The current price of land varies between Rs 25 lakh to Rs 40 lakh per acre. We had even had queries from farmers who were keen to sell of some area,” said Pardeep Sharma, a local property dealer.

Sabeer Bhatia’s Nanocity remains a distant dream

Chandigarh: Problems in land acquisition seems to have marred the development prospects of Nanocity, the much-hyped project of hotmail man Sabeer Bhatia.

Nanocity had to come up over 11,000 acre covering 23 villages at Raipur Rani near Panchkula in Haryana. The project still remains a distant dream even four years after it was announced. Moreover, the nodal agency—Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC)—has issued notice to the developers to submit the final plans by end of November and acquire atleast 500 acres for the project.

Sources in HSIIDC informed FE that in the annual general meeting held last week the developers were asked to curtail the size of the project from the proposed 11,000 acre to about 2,000 acre. “The land size has to be within feasible limits so that the project can be developed well. So far we have no information on land acquisition done by the developer. Also we have given them time till November end to submit the revised plans,” said a senior HSIIDC official.

On the other hand the developers say that Sabeer will soon be coming to India to discuss the plans of the project and only after that any decision will be taken.

Naval Bhatia (Sabeer's brother), managing director of the SPV floated for the project—Nano City haryana infrastructure —maintained that acquiring land is a big problem. “Land cannot be acquired in contiguity and verifying title deeds takes a lot of time as the same land is registered under many names,” said Bhatia. Also high land prices demanded by the farmers prove to be an obstacle in land acquisition process.

Few months ago, the developers were also thinking of roping in a foreign investor for the project but now the plan seems to have been shelved. However in July 2008 the promoters of nano city had offloaded 38% equity stake to Parsvnath Developers that had planned to invest Rs 400 crore as equity and debt in the project.

On the land acquisition front HSIIDC official said, “The promoters had approached the corporation for acquisition of land earlier due to some difficulties in acquiring the land. But we will only acquire the land in case it is not contiguous. The promoters have to acquire the major chunk first and then they can approach us for contiguity of land as per the land acquisition policy of the state.”

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Sabeer-Bhatia-s-Nanocity-remains-a-distant-dream/682578/

HIII all this is my first post

Sabeer Bhatia’s dream project shrinks to one-third
Nanocity developers decide to scale down Panchkula plan
Ruchika M. Khanna
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 10
After years of wait for the Sabeer Bhatia-promoted Nanocity project to take off, the Haryana Government has now asked the company to scale down the size of the project, so that it finally takes wings.

The proposal by the government was conveyed to the company last month, following which the company has now agreed to scale down the project size to almost one-third of the original.

Officials in the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) told TNS that a decision to that effect had been taken by the Board of Directors of Nanoworks Developers, Bhatia-owned company that was entrusted with the task of setting up the project in Panchkula district, in 2005.

“We had suggested that the company could bring down the size of the project from 11,138 acre to about 3,000 acre. The company was unable to acquire any land in Panchkula district because of the exorbitant cost of land, so we asked them to start the project by bringing down the project size. In July, the company had been warned that the project would be scrapped if they failed to acquire 500 acres of land by October. At a recently held meeting with officials of the HSIIDC, officials of the Nanoworks sought an extension to buy some land till January this year,” said a senior official.

The Nanoworks Developers had reportedly also informed the HSIIDC that it was looking at a strategic foreign investor to sell some equity and have more cash inflow.

The company had earlier sold 38 per cent equity to the Parasvnath Developers.

Nanocity is proposed to be the most modern city, based on the concept of Silicon Valley in the USA. It proposes to attract the world’s best educational institutions like Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, Caltech, Harvard, IITs and IIMs.

The city would focus on research and development in frontier technologies like the Internet software development, biotechnology, next generation drug discovery, nanosciences, enterprise software development, embedded software development, energy and pharmaceuticals.

The city will also provide high-quality infrastructure to cater to both business as well as personal needs of the resident - technology zone, airport, warehousing and facilities for recreation.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101111/main6.htm

The fact that it still is being metioned in articles may be sign it could still happen, even if it is half the size of the original plan. And article from a few days ago -

Haryana farmers to get no-litigation sop
(http://news.in.msn.com/business/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4778587)

Farmers in Haryana are a happy lot as the state government almost doubled the land acquisition rates in Gurgaon and substantially increased the rate in other parts of the state after revising the policy for Rehabilitation and Resettlement of landowners formed in 2005. The land acquisition rates were last revised in 2007.

The new rates as per second revision of the policy, that came into effect in November 2010, will apply to both state and central government as well as private acquisition of land for new projects in the state. Farmers will get a dividend by way of a "no-litigation incentive", working out to about 20% of the minimum floor rate (MFR), and payable over and above the MFR to those land owners who undertake not to go in for litigation. It implies that two of the major promoters - Reliance Industries and Sabeer Bhatia group will have to churn out extra money for acquiring land for their projects - RIL's SEZ at Jhajjar/Gurgaon and Sabeer Bhatia's nanocity at Raipur Rani in Haryana respectively.

Nanocity has been cancelled and moved to Gujarat


Feb 11: Sabeer Bhatia's Nano City recommended to be scrapped by HSIIDC (http://news.oneindia.in/2011/02/11/sabeerbhatias-nano-city-recommended-to-be-scrapped-byhsi-aid0126.html)

Chandigarh, Feb 11 (PTI) The Haryana State Industrial andInfrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) today recommended to scrap Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia's dream project Nano City for failing to set up the project in thestate.

"We have recommended that the project (Nano City) be scrapped," HSIIDC Managing Director Rajiv Arora told PTI, when asked about the status of the Nano City project.

"The final decision on the (Nano City) project will betaken in the next meeting of Haryana Investment PromotionBoard (HIPB)," he said. HIPB is headed by Haryana ChiefMinister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.


Sept 9: Sabir Bhatia makes presentation of Nanocity project to Gujarat CM (http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20110909/1829083.html)


Hotmail co-founder and IT expert Sabir Bhatia made a presentation before Chief Minister Narendra Modi regarding creating a Nanocity Global Knowledge Centre near Dholera Special Investment Region in Gujarat. Mr Bhatia, who called on the chief minister yesterday, said the proposed Nanocity project would be spread in 4,000-acre and would provide world-class facilities for the innovation and research in energy sector. After going through the presentation, Mr Modi said that there was a great scope for research and growth in the fields of petroleum and solar energy in Gujarat as the state is blessed with abundance of natural resources and solar energy. The Chief Minister showed keenness to extend positive support to the project, official sources said.

The proposed Nano City by Bhatia in the special investment region (SIR) at Dholera is coming up with an investment of Rs30,000 crore. The co-founder of Hotmail.com, Sabeer Bhatia has conceived the project, to be developed in Dholera SIR under the brand name of Nano City Gujarat.

"We are going to develop a new city, a bigger version of a township, which will have every desired facility. We have already identified the location in Dholera and soon we will announce the plan," he said.

The city will be developed 80 km away from Ahmedabad. It will also have an airport in days to come. "It will take about 15 years to build the city spread over 4,000 acres. Water bodies will also be developed there. Of the total land, 30% will be open area for greenery and another 30% will be reserved for commercial complexes. Rest of the area will have residential buildings of various categories such as 1BHK flats and big bungalows," said the official.

Nano City Gujarat had also tied up with a Pittsburgh-based university to set up an educational institute with a campus. The company also has plans to use solar energy in the city. "We want to develop the city in such a way that it would focus on solar or renewable energy to meet the power requirements. This will not only save cost but will also keep the city green and clean," said the official.
Source (http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_sabeer-bhatias-city-to-roll-sans-kalpasar-water_1585157)

Damn, Gujarat already has so many mega projects. :lol: