Major cities such as New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai are witnessing housing developments in the vicinity of industrial belts  The prime benefits of high-density planned development stems from a highly efficient work-home relationship. Time, energy and resources spent on transportation are optimised, without compromising on compatibility of different land uses. Today’s urban centres have the scope to improve efficiency, especially with respect to the work-home relationships for industrial employment hubs. Millions of people across the length and breadth of the country spend long hours and huge amount of energy and money to reach to their work place, which effectively ignites frustration and tiredness. But the good news is that many residential projects have started coming up fast in and around industrial hubs across major metropolis.
These locations have inherent advantages such as availability of cheaper real estate and access to end users. Since these areas will develop into townships of tomorrow, they are a win-win proposition for all—developers, industrial employees and investors. Priced within the range of Rs 30 lakh, these affordable apartments help employees to enjoy a good work-home relationship, while create value for investors over a period of time.
Such developments would also be relatively recession proof as they are addressing genuine needs and are providing real value to end users at a location, which does not have a very large speculation component built into the land price.
All major cities such as New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai are witnessing housing developments in the vicinity of industrial belts.
NCR
Manesar, an evolving industrial town in Gurgaon district and a part of the National Capital Region (NCR), has witnessed the launch of seven residential projects comprising 4,800 flats of 1,261 square feet (sq ft) each with an average launch price of Rs 2,450 per sq ft over the last 1 year. These seven projects of the micro-market account for 30% of the total residential projects that have come up in Gurgaon over the same period of time.
Kolkata
Moving east, the industrial hub of Bantala is witnessing rapid residential development and over the last 1 year, three residential projects have been launched here in quick continuation. Around 900 flats with an average unit size of about 900 sq ft and average launch price of Rs 1,750 per sq ft have been developed. The residential development in Bantala occupies a total market share of 28% in the total development pie of Kolkata over the last year. Interestingly, market sources predict that this market can accommodate more residential development, thereby increasing the choice further for consumers who are interested to invest here.
Chennai
Let us now dive to the property market in South India. The industrial town of Sriperumbudur, which is close to Chennai metropolis, has registered the launch of 12 residential projects including 2,300 flats of 882 sq ft each and an average launch price of Rs 2,450 per sq ft. Therefore, it seems that Sriperumbudur has been able to shed its negative image (ex-Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi was assassinated here) and is fast emerging as a prospective destination for residential development. Over the past few years, it has become a bastion of many large automobile companies. Moreover, with a large labour force commuting daily from Chennai to work in this industrial belt, Sriperumbudur is another example of an industrial town that can well accommodate residential development.
MMR
The country’s financial capital seems to surpass all. Around 17 new residential projects have come up near Panvel-Khargar industrial belt, accounting for 16% of the development in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) over the last 1 year. In the 17 projects, nearly 5,000 flats with an average unit size of 1,046 sq ft and launch price of Rs 2,760 per sq ft will be ready for occupation soon.
Industrial centres have always recorded high occupancy rate as people prefer having their work place near their place of residence. Therefore, the development of residential projects in and around industrial hubs is extremely important for the growth of such towns. Keeping this growth in mind, builders and other stakeholders in recent times are working together to achieve optimal infrastructure development, including schools, colleges, hospitals and road connectivity near the industrial hubs across India.
However, the success of many of these industrial hubs rests on the various initiatives of the respective state governments, while they ensure adequate infrastructure development for the migrating working population. Of late, most of the country’s state governments are actively undertaking necessary action and working towards ensuring this transition.
Samir Jasuja, founder and managing director of PropEquity Research, a realty data and analytics firm in New Delhi |
