The City Of Future ( Realty Plus)

The City Of Future ( Realty Plus)

The last ten years have seen Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad emerge as alternate real estate hubs to accommodate demand for housing, retail and office. NH-1, with fast progressing areas like Kundli, Sonepat and Panipat, is the next avenue for real estate growth in the NCR regionAs demand for housing in NCR increases, National Highway 1 linking Delhi to Amritsar, is coming up as a major real estate hub. The cities of Kundli, Sonipat, Rai and Panipat are showing a lot of promise for developers, home buyers and investors alike. During the last decade, there has been an extensive increase in infrastructure facilities like road networks, power distribution systems and social infrastructure like hospitals, education centres and recreational facilities in these areas. It’s no surprise then that Kundli and Sonepat have witnessed the launch of many real estate projects in recent years, catering to the demand from affordable, luxury and ultra-luxury segments. According to Nitesh Kumar, COO, TDI Infracorp, “There is a growing demand for housing amongst the middle class people living in North and West Delhi. With real estate prices showing a steep rise within the City, Kundli which is 15 minutes away from Mukarba Chowk is certainly the best option .The ready-to-move in and under-developed projects in Kundli-Sonepat, which is an extended part of North Delhi, are options for mid-segment who are looking out for modern housing at a competitive price.” Concurs Ritesh Sehgal, VP, Omaxe, “As a developer, we create projects that cater to the demand of the local populace. However, with increasing migration and urbanisation, a unique and universal appeal has to be given to every project. Sonepat attracts buyers from Delhi, especially its Northwest part. In the last few years, due to its seamless connectivity from the Capital, the region has seen more interest from buyers from this region.” Earmarked as a priority town in the Delhi Metropolitan Area (DMA), Kundli is located on the Delhi border. If Noida catered to the growing housing needs of East Delhi residents and Gurgaon that of South and West Delhi, Kundli, is all set to establish itself as an extension of North Delhi and offer a good lifestyle to its citizens. Only 15 minutes away from residential hubs of North and Northwest Delhi like Pitampura, Rohini and Punjabi Bagh, Kundli is today one of the best investment destinations in the NCR. On the other hand, located 90km from Delhi, Panipat continues to grab the attention of prospective investors. It holds the distinction as a petrochemical hub and now efforts are being made to develop it into a high-tech city, thus drawing an increasing number of real estate developers to the city. Infrastructure projects The biggest infrastructure project in the area is the 135-km long Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway (KMP), the largest highway project in the country to be implemented on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis. While the 50-km stretch from Manesar to Palwal is expected to open soon, the entire stretch is expected to become operational by the end of this year. KMP will catapult Kundli as one of North India’s main logistics and warehousing hubs. The proposed eastern peripheral expressway is also expected to give a further fillip to development of this area. Developers are banking on KMP Expressway to change the fortunes of Kundli in the years to come. KMP Expressway is set to become the single major catalyst in both residential and commercial development in the region. Other smaller towns surrounding Delhi failed in the past to become the preferred real estate due to lack of fast track connectivity. Lots of new townships on this stretch have come up, which is a clear indication that the corridor will witness major growth in residential and commercial development,” says Nitesh Kumar of TDI. “The factors like KMP Expressway, the proposed Rapid Rail Transport System and Metro Rail in Kundli, SEZ etc make Sonepat a prominent place on the priority list of homebuyers, who have of late been making a gradual shift from Delhi due to its sky-rocketing prices”, affirms Sehgal of Omaxe. Another major step facilitating connectivity to Kundli and Panipat has been the opening of the Mukarba Chowk grade separator. It was planned with the aim of providing impetus to Rohini area as well as upcoming townships such as Kundli. This single infrastructure push from Delhi has had far-reaching effects on the holistic development of Sonepat district. Other future project such as the proposed metro connectivity and the proposed Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) would connect Kashmere Gate in Delhi to Kundli and Panipat with high-speed trains that would cover the distance in 20 minutes. Social & Industrial Growth Going hand-in-hand with improved connectivity, is the growth of social infrastructure in the region. A Global Corridor will be developed on 62,000 hectares of land for world-class development along the KMP Expressway. Among the 14 new townships proposed on the Global corridor are the Rajiv Gandhi Education City, Knowledge City, Kharkhauda City, World Trade Financial City, Medi City and Biotech City. The Rajiv Gandhi Education City will be spread across 5000 acres and has been envisaged as a hub for higher learning and a centre for research in cutting-edge technologies. The government has already acquired 2,000 acres for Phase-1 and has allocated land to 15 universities. “The upcoming knowledge city, titled Rajiv Gandhi Education City would be the single largest higher educational complex in the world and will serve about 1.5 lakh students in 10 universities. It is being said that the way IT changed Gurgaon; Education Hub will change Kundli,” believes Nitesh Kumar of TDI. The Export Promotion Industrial Park is developed on an area of 107 acres by the HSIIDC in Kundli. This project has been earmarked for Export Oriented Units of all kinds, with special emphasis on food processing, leather garments and accessories, electronics, telecommunications, automotives, auto parts, sports goods, handloom and ready-made garments projects. Projects in plenty With the promise of world-class connectivity and superior social infrastructure, many major developers from the NCR region have earmarked Kundli and Sonepat for large-scale residential projects. While the TDI Group remains the premier developer in the Kundli region, others like Parsvnath Developers, Ansal Properties, Omaxe, Parker Group, Raheja Malls, Eldeco County, Anant Raj, Tulip Infrastructure, Collage Group, Eros Group, AJS Builders, Divine Group, Big Jos, Shree Vardhman and Jindal Greens are all present with projects of varying magnitudes in this belt. Among the biggest projects in the region is TDI City, a residential township on 1,250 acres in Kundli. The township offers plots in sizes of 250, 350, 500 and 700 sq yards with nearly 8 acres of frontage and two entries and exits. Over 600 families have already moved in and by the year-end 2,000 more are expected to take possession. Apart from the 2,500 ready-to-move-in units in TDI Kingsbury Apartments of 2, 3 and 4 BHKs, TDI City offers ready-to-move-in TDI My Floors of ground plus two independent floors and expandable villas. TDI has recently launched Waterside Floors at Lake Grove that is coming up around a lake in Kundli. TDI Tuscan City offers 3BHK, 3BHK plus study and duplex with terrace units of Tuscan Floors, which will be handed over for possession by this year. The group has also forayed in the retail space and has just completed the TDI Mall on 5.5 lakh sq ft of retail space. The developer is also coming up with TDI City in Panipat, spread over 300 acres. It will be a luxurious, self-sufficient and integrated residential township in the heart of Panipat. Besides TDI, Ansal API, Parsvnath, Ambience, Eldeco, Splendor too have projects being developed in Panipat Another major township coming up on NH-1, Sushant City by Ansal API is spread over an area of 300 acres in Kundli. Also being developed on NH-1 is Omaxe City in Sonepat, an integrated township with a wide range of offerings from plots to villas to independent floors to spacious apartments and commercial space According to SM Jain, COO, Haryana, Ansal API, “Sushant City has been conceptualised to fill in the vacuum of quality residential complexes in North Delhi. Planned over approximately 250 acres of beautifully landscaped land this privileged township would house office/ commercial centres, banks and post office, telephone exchange, underground electricity distribution system, fibre optic network and e-connectivity and other world class amenities.” Currently, developers are selling their projects in the range of Rs2,800-4,500 per sq ft, depending upon the location and stage of construction. On the other hand, plots in Kundli and Sonipat are available in the range of Rs18,000-35,000 per square yard. “On an average, there has been 30-40 per cent appreciation in apartment rates since 2007-08, implying that the annual property appreciation rate in the Kundli region has been in the range of 6-10 per cent on an average. On the expectation of a boom on the residential market and increased scope for commercial activities in the area, commercial properties at Kundli have witnessed handsome appreciation of more than 50 per cent over the last 3-4 years,” says Santhosh Kumar, CEO - Operations, Jones Lang LaSalle India. Future outlook To go to the next level of development, the Kundli-Sonepat-Panipat region needs faster implementation of policies and infrastructure creation. It needs to evolve and create opportunities the way Noida-Greater Noida and Gurgaon, which boast of proximity to Delhi, did. The region’s potential emergence into an extension of the Capital needs more focused and planned approach from the Government as well as the concerned realty stakeholders. Due to the delay in the growth of the KMP Expressway, the property market in the region has not taken off with the initially anticipated speed. Overall, the region lacks critical mass in terms of population, and it has yet to emerge as a preferred office destination for IT/ITeS organisations Summarises Santhosh Kumar of JLL, “From a future investment perspective, this region will essentially continue to remain promising due to its proximity to North Delhi and the Delhi borders. Property investors with constrained budgets can still explore Kundli for its affordable options. If the Government shows renewed commitment towards the proposed infrastructure and development initiatives, the Kundli real estate market can certainly get into higher gear. Investors should maintain an investment horizon of at least 3-5 years in order to realise a decent ROI, as it will take at least such a period for the region to develop sufficiently.” http://www.realtyplusmag.com/spotlight_fullstory.asp?spotlight_id=79