Japanese hostel ruins. No takers
The roof ceilings are falling, the plants are drying, the entire state-of-the-art complex is in the state of mess. Water in the swimming pool is rotting and the complex has turned into a shelter for stray dogs and monkeys.
New Delhi. Having remained the epicenter of bustling Japanese activities for a decade or so in Gurgaon, the Japanese Hostel cum Restaurant Complex has been ruining and decaying for the want of occupants for the last almost two years.
The roof ceilings are falling, the plants are drying, the entire state-of-the-art complex is in the state of mess. Water in the swimming pool is rotting and the complex has turned into a shelter for stray dogs and monkeys.
Till recently the venue was very popular with the Japanese community for the choicest of cuisines, cultural and recreational activities, and was a kind of a home away from home for the Japanese traveling to India. The waiting list for bookings ran into 3 to 4 years with the complex witnessing 100% occupancy.
Strategically located in the heart of the millennium city bang on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway, the complex was the epitome of Japanese activities as it was occupied by the Japanese car producing major Maruti Suzuki India Limited on 1-year lease from 2007 to 2017 for their executives and their families coming to India to work here.
Built by the state-owned HSIIDC at the land measuring 4.25 acres (over 16,000 sq meters), the Japanese Hostel cum Restaurant Complex is a centrally air-conditioned complex with 100% power backup facility. It has a Japanee restaurant, a bar, swimming pool, a gymnasium, conference hall, business center, and banquet halls. The complex also has 15 double and 40 single suites.
The Japanese would stay here for small as well as longer periods, as long as 3-4 years also.
The cash-strapped Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) has also attempted to sell off the Japanese Hostel cum Restaurant Complex and other properties in the state to overcome its debt of Rs. 14,000 crores but failed for the want of the takers due to sluggish real estate market scenario, said Aseem Takyar, an RTI activist in the knowledge of the related developments.
The Japanese Hostel cum Restaurant Complex was built by HSIIDC at the cost of Rs. 24 crores in 2004 and was leased out to Maruti Suzuki for 10 years in 2007 for a monthly rent of Rs. 30 lakhs a month at an 8% increasing annual rate.
Till 2017 when Maruti Suzuki vacated it, the rental had touched Rs. 55 lakhs a month but negotiations to extend the lease period failed as HSIIDC wanted to increase the rental to Rs. 65 lakhs per month.
However, the current market worth of this property runs into hundreds of crores of rupees but due to sluggish realty market, no investors are coming forward to bid for this prime property.
