This is a group whose portfolio includes Pepsi Bottling, retail, fast food, health care and real estate development. Situated at Dhapasi Heights, Park View offers 185 super-luxurious condominiums. Nepali Times spoke to Ravi Jaipuria of RJ Corp in Kathmandu this week.

Nepali Times: In Nepal, you are known primarily as Pepsi bottlers. Isn't selling real estate a different line of business altogether?
Ravi Jaipuria: Yes, we've been doing business in Nepal for the last 10 years as a bottler for Pepsi. Our presence here has made us familiar in and with this country. We have experienced the ups and the downs in the market here. Our portfolio in India, Sri Lanka and other countries includes businesses in real estate in addition to those of fast food, health care and education. Combining our Nepal-based business and real estate management experiences, we decided to get into building apartments in Kathmandu. We are confident that the market for apartments is growing here.

In recent years, we've seen a rise in the number of housing companies in Nepal. How are you different?
We offer four things that our competitors cannot match: quality, size, location and design. We offer central heating and air-conditioning in all our buildings. Our buildings are high-rises that go up to 15 storeys. At Park View Horizon, we offer 200 apartments. Our location is at Dhapasi Heights, which is not far from the city, yet outside of it. You can see the Himalayas from the top floors. It was designed by the architects who designed the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.

Some people may object to Kathmandu becoming a place for high-rise residential buildings. How do you respond to their concerns?
We understand their concerns. We are proud to say that we are the first developers permitted by the government's Ministry of Environment. Before starting work, we did an environmental impact assessment for about six months. What we have designed today is an eco-friendly community resident centre.

One criticism of developers is that they buy chunks of land to build secluded housing colonies for rich people. In the process, they neglect local communities.

In our case, we have not neglected the local Dhapasi communities. We have built a community centre for nearby residents. We have put in road networks to the surrounding villages. We have hired local workers in our project, and our contractor is the Nepal-based Chitawan Koie. At every step of our project, we have thought and planned like local residents. We offer world-class amenities, 70 percent open landscape and the best global themes in home d?cor that will target high-end premium clientele. We expect the project to be a success and in the near future more such ventures will come up.