In Mira-Virar unit more than 150 real estate projects are coming out of which 30 projects are in ready position, 120 projects are under constructions and several projects are coming soon

Mumbai is running out of space and real estate becomes unaffordable, the Mira-Virar belt has emerged as the new residential hub. The real estate in Mira road to Virar offers the buyer with spacious flats at affordable rates with all the modern amenities such as swimming pools, health clubs and landscaped gardens, unlike in Mumbai where it is the monopoly of the ultra rich. With townships, malls, hospitals and schools and promise of better rail connectivity this belt is becoming the new address of the middle-class especially for those who travel to the western suburbs. The Western Railway is already building the infrastructure to extend the local trains line; the Virar-Dahanu stretch would become operational in about a year. Many companies are also purchasing flats and setting up residential quarters for their staff in the area, which gives a further boost to the sector.
As far as suburban areas are concern particularly homebuyers are setting their eyes on Mira road to Virar. Rising demands for home from Mira to Virar is happening due to rising interest rates and increasing property prices in south Mumbai, so homebuyers are moving towards the suburban areas most of them are free from slums. And why not move to these areas though it is officially not under the BMC, but it enjoys all the facilities available in Mumbai like 24 hour power supply from Reliance Energy, telephone services from MTNL, piped gas from Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL), and bus services from Bombay Electric Supply and Transport Company (BEST). State Transport (ST) and Thane Municipal Transport (TMT) buses run between Mira Road and Thane.
In the current scenario Mira Road is one of the most growing areas in Mumbai due to several amenities available near to home such as Malls, Markets, Higher Educational Institutions, Hospitals and many more. Earlier, Mira Road was divided into two main parts, Shanti Nagar and Naya Nagar with Sheetal Nagar too just emerging. As far as educational institution is concern education has become the basic need there are many Educational Institutes like NL Dalmiya School and Management College, Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel Vidyalaya, Holy Cross Convent School, St. Xaviers, Royal College, R.B. Kanakia, N.H English Academy, St. Joseph’s School, Shanti Nagar High School and many more are located in the town. And Old age homes for Senior citizens life enrichments services by dignity foundation at Anubhav Spirituality Center in the St. Joseph Church compound. St. Rose of Sharon Church is functional at Mira Road, in the Western Suburbs of Mumbai.
The huge number of homebuyers is moving to Mira-Virar unit as they are getting similar amenities in the region so not only civic body but MCHI is also focusing on Mira-Virar unit (MVC) infrastructure development. At the first Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the MCHI’s MVC Unit has proposed code of conduct for builders to enhance level of quality and to deter irregularities in property transactions.
For bridging the long gap between Virar and Alibag and to reduce timing MMRDA also has taken initiative in terms of 140-km Virar-Alibaug multimodal corridor. In this project authorities are incorporating various infrastructure components in the Corridor in which the road component would be planned such that it would facilitate the speed of 120km per hour to the motorists. The Corridor proposed from Diva-Vasai rail line intersection on NH-8 up to Alibaug would cover a distance of about 140km. The route would enable to cover the distance just little more than an hour. As currently, all other routes take about 3 to 5 hours to cover the distance. Therefore, the proposed Multi-Modal Corridor would provide fastest and convenient route for the commuters.

Basic Amenities

Rail
The Western Railway of the Mumbai Suburban Railway is the lifeline of the western and extended suburbs of Mumbai. Mira Road & Bhayander are the railway stations on this line. Mira Road is one station after Dahisar. After Bhayander is the Vasai (Bassein) Creek bridge followed by Naigaon. Slow and fast trains between Churchgate, Dadar, Andheri & Borivali and Vasai Road/Virar operate from Mira Road & Bhayander stations.

Road Network
The Western Express Highway, as termed in Mumbai leaves the city as the NH 8 (National Highway) linking Mumbai with the west and north west of India. Important cities covered on the NH 8 are Vapi (for Daman & Silvassa), Surat, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Udaipur, Ajmer, Jaipur and Delhi. On the NH 8, just beyond the Ghodbunder area is the Virar-Vasai area. Ghodbunder is also linked to Thane by a highway.

Bus Services
The BEST Undertaking has been the longest provider of services to the area with services to Mira Road Station, Shrusti Complex, Bhayander Railway Station (East), Kashimira & Ghodbunder from points in Borivali, Kandivali, Marol, Mulund, Santacruz, Mahim & Sion. Several Western and central suburbs are thus conveniently connected. The BEST operates these buses under the 700 number series.

Education
Bhayander has a fast developing education sector in line with the increase in population. A few amongst them are
• Shantinagar High School
• The Saraswati Vidyalaya,
• Father joesph’s english high school
• Royal College of Science, Arts and Commerce
• Our Lady of Nazareth
• Oxford English High school
• Seven Square Academy
• Bhayander Secondary School,
• Holy Cross Convent School,
• Abhinav Vidya Mandir(Limca award winner),
• Ram-Ratna Vidya Mandir
• Don Bosco Public High School,

Health & Fitness
The town has many hospitals & fitness clubs, the prominent being Ashwini Hospital, Bhakti Vedanta Hospital, Apple Hospital & Medical Center, Kasturi Memorial Hospital, Sanjeevani Children Hospital, Apollo Hospital,Umrao Hospital, Balaji. Parulekar’s Gym & Fitness Center, Hercules Health Center, the Green Court Club, Blue Moon Club, Talwalkar’s Nutrition Center are the better know fitness clubs.

Malls and Major Stores
The region has attracted significant large retailers like the Maxus Mall, Maxus Cinemas, Cine Max Theater , Rassaz Theater , Reliance Fresh, Big Bazaar, Asmita Supermarket, Reebok Store, Woodland Shoes, Vijay Sales, D-Mart, HP World Store and more. McDonalds situated on the Mira-Bhayander Road off Beverly Park Road and Pizza Hut, Dominio’s are also vying for the custom of an increasingly influential and upwardly mobile local population.

By Shubhranshu Pani, Managing Director – Retail Services, Jones Lang LaSalle India

By Accommodation Times (www.accommodationtimes.com)

2011 In Retrospective
Judging by feedback obtained from a cross-section of Indian retail players, it emerges that most retailers perceived 2011 to be a flat year. In fact, many retailers experienced decelerated sales – the affected segments included the apparels and footwear industries, which – on the whole – grew by only 9% as compared to the 12% of the preceding year.
Stagnation was evident in many stores in the larger cities, and these dynamics were evident in the reduced demand for organized retail spaces for expansion. Smaller retailers in the unorganized sector fared marginally better, with regional players taking the smallest hit.
That said, certain apparel retail segments like women’s Western wear did grow from 15% to 25% in 2011. The home furnishing and interior décor also saw encouraging sales, with moderate expansion by players in this segment seen in many cities
Health care products did reasonably better, with the wellness category showing greater growth than baseline pharmaceuticals. Hypermarkets also saw reasonable growth, especially in the food segment. Likewise, electronics saw healthy growth and reasonable absorption of additional organized retail real estate.
In terms of regions, retailers in East and North India saw better growth than the South, with West India being the worst hit. In terms of cities, Tier 2 was more buoyant than Tier 3, with Tier 1 cities displaying the lowest growth rate. In fact, it is now apparent that cities like Pune and are significantly over-retailed. Mumbai and Bangalore show more promise for cautious expansion in the current year.
In general terms, many retailers in 2012 are stuck with unsold stock from Q4 2011. This fact will spawn a lot of earlier-than-usual sales, with a definite impact on profit margins. We expect various cost-saving measures by retailers to kick in from April 2012 onwards.

Prospects For 2012
Retail performance and therefore expansion in terms of real estate is heavily wired into the country’s macro-economic performance. Economic growth for 2012 is pegged by most retailers at 6.8–7.2%, and inflation is likely to level off at 6-7%. Most retailers expect a flat year in terms of profit margins, growth and expansion.
This sentiment applies most to the first quarter, with 4Q2011 promising a reduced off-take as a result. Inventory pileup will necessitate sales to start from January itself. Food sales will be the early indicator of mood for next 2-3 quarters.
Hopes are being pinned on the Union Budget which, if favourable to retail, would indicate at least marginal growth in the second half. Capital will be an issue for many retailers in 2012, and increased consolidation of operations is almost a certainty in some categories. Many new store launches will be postponed and retailers will focus on making their existing stores more profitable.
Most retailers feel that prices will need to be corrected and more entry-level product require to come in during the year. They will monitor cash flow carefully, which means that new store launches will be scarcer than in 2011. Expansion will be non-aggressive at best, with the highest demand for retail spaces coming from consolidation rather than actual growth. We are likely to see a lot of exits from non-viable stores during the current year.

By Accommodation Times (www.accommodationtimes.com)

Residential Real Estate

With the market set to bottom by out by the second quarter of 2012, we will see the beginning of a recovery in the city’s residential real estate fortunes by the second half of the year. Meanwhile, there is very little scope for appreciation in under-construction projects. In fact, unsold under-construction stock will increase significantly. There is a lot of scope for strategic pre-launch bulk investment deals by HNIs who can predict where the market will head later in the year.

Currently, buyers are not expressing any interest in projects that are perceived to be overpriced, and this trend will continue throughout the first half of 2012. In this period, the city’s residential market will be more or less sustained by the sale of affordably priced mid-income apartments. This absorption will be driven by both end users and HNI investors. However, completed high-end projects will become costlier by mid-year, largely because of reduced supply in this segment. The new DCR regulations would further impact new launches in the first half.

The reduction of interest rates expected by the second half of the year will help kick-start a generalized – though cautious – recovery in demand for residential property, leading to an increase in launches. Many HNI investors would have perceived this trend and already parked their monies in advantageously located residential projects by well-funded developers. Their investments will be amply vindicated at this point.

Commercial Real Estate

For those who thought 2011 was a discouraging year for Mumbai’s office space market, 2012 will not bring any obvious reasons for cheer. Demand will be marginally lower than in 2011, with IT and ITES companies becoming even more cautious on account of the expected reduction in IT spend by US and European companies. The uncertain economic environment will continue, leading to reduced employment growth and therefore lower fresh commercial space absorption. Tighter lending standards for commercial construction will not help, either.

On the brighter side, these market conditions will continue to favor tenants in most of Mumbai’s micro-markets by ways of a larger bouquet of options, rational pricing and various concessions. The market conditions are optimal for consolidation and relocation, and many Mumbai-based occupiers will avail of this option throughout 2012.

Office space rentals will show a further – though marginal – drop in the first half of the year as infusions of additional stock lead to higher vacancies. One direct result of this will be a sharp reduction in speculative commercial projects. The continued yield compression will cause a number of HNIs will become active buyers of rent-producing and vacant office spaces in the city.

Also, demand for smaller offices in Grade A projects is expected to increase as more small and medium sized Indian corporates take advantage of the rationalized pricing and buy space in them.

Retail Real Estate

Mumbai’s retail real estate sector looks buoyant in 2012. We will see some of the city’s older malls being repositioned, refurbished and re-tenanted. Vacancy levels will increase in several poorly-designed and unfavorably located malls. Interestingly, the redevelopment of several old residential societies in the Island city will give rise to an unexpected availability of more high street retail space. More store-within-store formats, drive-through lanes and pick-up zones will be implemented in 2012.

Mumbai’s retail space landlords are taking a progressive view of the sector’s future. They have already begun to express greater willingness to opt for a revenue-sharing arrangement, rather than insisting on pure rental-based deals. Despite the political reverberations, we expect FDI in multi-brand retail to be officially allowed in the second half.

Real Estate Investment

In 2012, Mumbai will underscore its status as a relatively safe haven for Indian core real estate. HNI investors will re-enter the market in a big way, and the increased HNI investment volumes are likely to put pressure on core cap rate. The market could see short-run fluctuations as investors alternate between seeking out more risk and briefly pulling back. Overall, it is the financial market volatility which will continue to drive sentiment swings.

Debt capital availability is likely to increase for core investments in the financial capital; however, financing challenges will continue for high-risk, opportunistic real estate investments. With stiffening of lending policies and standards, debt will become more expensive and many city developers will reconsider the private equity route for their funding needs.

There is every indication that in 2012, a number of distressed projects by smaller developers will be acquired by large and medium-sized developers at sub-valuation prices. Some developers are gearing up to sell their non-core land and divest their stakes in non-core businesses such as hospitality and retail.

By Accommodation Times (www.accommodationtimes.com)

According to the 2011 census, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region has over 23.5 million people. To house this population on the ground floor, assuming a household size of 4 and dwelling units of 900 sq ft per family which are laid wall to wall, we would need 121,384 acres of contiguous land. If all these houses are built facing the street (for access), providing a frontage of 20 ft to each unit, the total length of the street would be 35,606 kilometres.
Being the commercial capital, the city not only attracts migrants from all parts of India but also has a high floating population which commutes to the city for work everyday. This high density calls for developments to be vertically stacked by design, with multiple functions layered one over the other. Nevertheless, the proposal for increasing the Floor Space Index (FSI) in the city (which would enable more construction over the same land area) has always met with stiff resistance on practical, sustainable and ethical grounds.
Permissible FSI in South Mumbai is 1.33, while that in the suburbs has recently been increased from 1 to 1.33. Additionally, developers can purchase Transfer of Development Rights (TDRs) and construct up to a FSI of 2. However, this is low when compared to global destinations such as Singapore, New York and Hong Kong Island Urban Area, which have FSI of 5, 10 and 12 or above respectively within a radius of 10 kilometres from the city centre. What does this imply for Mumbai real estate?
Real estate developmental density in Mumbai has not kept pace with the growth in population density. Due to the huge pressure on the city’s already scarce land resources, market forces have tended to circumvent the base FSI regulations and build more through ‘discretionary approvals’ in lieu of construction of civic amenities such as parking structures. Also, certain construction features which were excluded from FSI – such as balconies, flower-beds, voids and niches – were manipulated so that they could be utilized as habitable spaces after construction. These innovative circumventions of building regulations could justifiably be called ‘creative feedback’ from the industry.
Last week, the Government disapproved of these discretionary approvals for construction and came up with amendments in the Development Control Regulations. To increase transparency and remove layers of regulations, an all-in FSI calculation which includes the FSI-free design features has been stipulated. In lieu of lost volume of construction, developers can build 35% extra (as Fungible FSI) by paying a certain premium to the Government. This could keep the construction volumes nearly the same, as developers used to overbuild nearly 25%-30% as FSI-free features.
However, developers would now be more inclined to include this extra 35% as usable carpet area in the properties, resulting in better efficiencies in terms of carpet area-to-saleable-area ratios. We could see more box-like residential towers which provide a maximum habitable area to the tenant, instead of lavish architectural projections such as balconies and other design features. The purge of discretionary approvals would also make the industry a more level playing field for developers.
The moot point to debate is – is Mumbai building enough? Should FSI be increased from its current level of 2 to 5 or 10? The issues are as much scientific and statistical as they are ethical. Some points to ponder:

• Strategic densification through a differential FSI regime based on micro-zoning instead of the current uniform FSI system is the key for balancing densities with infrastructure
• Construction volume depends directly on the carrying capacity of developed infrastructure in terms of roads, water and power. Hence, permissible FSI can be mapped with projected completions of infrastructural projects, leading to zones or corridors of high-density development.
• Urban renewal should not be blindly incentivized by higher FSI as it might lead to congestion in zones which have older properties
• Strategic densification of suburban nodes could be explored as development of infrastructure is convenient at low-density locations
• Premium monies collected for higher FSI should be compulsorily ploughed back through investments in infrastructural development

India’s economy expanded by around 7.7% in the quarter ending June 2011, registering its slowest pace in the past six quarters. This was primarily on account of the continuing high interest rate regime and weak global economic conditions. IMF has reduced India’s economic growth prospects from the earlier proposed 8.2% to about 7.8% in 2011, amidst volatile investment activity and weak economic sentiment.
A key challenge for the government in the present scenario has been to control inflation which stood at 9.7% in August, as compared to 9.2% in July 2011. The regular rate hikes by RBI, in a bid to rein in inflation and consumption, have exerted enormous pressure on the cost of funds for banks, besides inflating input costs for real estate projects. The central bank is expected to continue with this monetary policy in the near future, which will continue to force banks towards raising lending rates. This has already impacted real estate demand, especially in the residential sector as also project construction in quite a few micro-markets.

Demand
The third quarter of 2011 witnessed absorption of more than 5 million sq ft of office space across the leading cities in the country, compared to absorption of almost 8 million sq ft in the previous quarter. The National Captial Region, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai were the leading cities; accounting for almost 80% of the entire space getting absorbed in the country.

Supply
The third quarter of 2011 witnessed the addition of more than 5 million sq ft of new supply cross the leading cities of the country. A decline of almost 50% was witnessed in new supply addition when compared to the previous quarter. This can largely be attributed to the slowing pace of construction and projects getting stalled due to the prohibitive level of funding cost.
Another factor for slowdown of construction activity has been the relative sluggish off-take of existing stock. The new supply addition was largely concentrated in NCR, Bengaluru and Pune comprising more than 75% of the entire supply addition in the third quarter. It is expected that supply pressure would be maintained across most of the key IT / ITeS markets across the country, thereby leading to stagnancy in rental values.

Mumbai
The Central Business District (CBD) of Nariman Point witnessed limited transaction activity. No fresh supply was added to the existing stock and absorption was recorded at 15,000 sq ft. Vacancy has been estimated at 5-6%; rental values remained stable during the quarter.
Limited transaction activity was witnessed in the Extended Business District (EBD) of Lower Parel in the last quarter. No new supply was released whilst absorption was recorded at around 0.23 million sq ft. Low demand levels and abundant availability of office space in this micro market led to an increase in vacancy levels and was in the range of 41 – 42%. With an additional expected supply of 1 million sq ft lined up for completion in the last quarter of 2011, vacancy levels are slated to increase further in the coming months, thus putting additional downward pressure on rental and capital values. The micro markets of Worli and Prabhadevi
remained largely inactive due to limited availability of Grade A office space. No fresh supply was added to the existing stock; absorption was recorded at around 10,000 sq ft and vacancy was in the range of 17 – 18%. The Alternate Business District (ABD) of Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) continued to remain the preferred location for corporate occupiers looking for quality office space to expand. Few midsized transaction closures were witnessed during the last quarter and absorption was recorded at almost 0.11 million sq ft. Rental values remained stable and vacancy was estimated in the range of 11-12%. However with the enormous amount of supply expected to release into this micro-market over the next 3-4 quarters, some pricing pressure could develop in the short to medium term. Limited leasing activity was witnessed in the Secondary Business District (SBD) of Andheri, Ville Parle and Jogeshwari. No fresh Grade A supply was released into this micro market; absorption was recorded at around 35,000 sq ft and vacancy rate remained high at 22-23%. This micro market is witnessing competition from Lower Parel also, with corporates evaluating options in both the micro markets, leading to more pressure on values and supply.
Almost 30,000 sq ft of IT space was transacted in the Peripheral Business District (PBD) of Powai and Vikhroli during this review period. Navi Mumbai and Thane witnessed absorption of around 0.15 million sq ft of IT space during this quarter. Rentals in this micro market continued to remain stable. Few large sized transactions are expected to be finalised in the coming few months. Additionally, approximately 25,000 sq ft of IT space was absorbed in the micro markets of Malad and Goregaon.

NCR
The Central Business District (CBD) of Connaught Place continued to witness demand for Grade A office space, however lack of availability of quality office space is making most of the prospective tenants delay their expansion plans. Around 10,000 sq ft of fresh supply was introduced (a 5 star hotel converted part of its annexe into office space primarily focusing on shortterm usage) into this micro market. Total absorption of Grade A office space was recorded at approximately 31,000 sq ft and vacancy was in the range of 2-3%.
Rental values increased marginally by 2-3% during this quarter. The Secondary Business District (SBD) of Nehru Place witnessed closure of few small sized transactions
with absorption recorded at just 9,300 sq ft. No new supply was added to the existing stock and vacancy dropped to 5 – 6%. Rental values increased marginally by 2-3%, q-o-q.
Saket District Centre did not witness any significant transaction activity. Due to strata ownership of most of the developments, this micro market lacks the availability of contiguous large office spaces, which poses a deterrent for most corporate occupiers. This
micro market witnessed few small size transaction closures with absorption recorded at only around 17,500 sq ft. However, on account of improved market sentiments, rentals witnessed an increment of 7 – 8% during this quarter; vacancy level hovered around 15 Commercial leasing activity in Jasola District Centre remained low during the third quarter. Approximately 17,000 sq ft of second generation space was added to the existing stock, thus increasing the vacancy levels to approximately 27 – 28%, from 20 – 22% registered in Q2 2011.

Bangalore
The Central Business District (CBD) of MG Road, Richmond Road, Residency Road and Lavelle Road witnessed addition of almost 141,000 sq ft of new supply in the third quarter. Limited supply and augmented demand for quality office space led to a rental increment of 5-6%, q-o-q; vacancy level was in the range of 1-2% during the review period.
The Extended Business District (EBD) of Indira Nagar, Koramangala, Old Madras Road and CV Raman Nagar witnessed addition of around 0.15 million sq ft of office supply. Rental growth in this micromarket has been a result of limited availability of quality office space and increase in demand from existing occupiers. Vacancy levels remained at a low of 3% during the last quarter.
During this year, no fresh Grade A office space is likely to be released in the South Bangalore micro market of Bannerghatta Road, JP Nagar, Jayanagar and Mysore Road. Rental values did not witness any increment, q-o-q basis. Almost 66,000 sq ft of office space was absorbed during this quarter, mainly in Grade B developments.

Chennai
Transaction activity in the Central Business District (CBD) of Anna Salai, T Nagar, RK Salai, Alwarpet, and Nungambakkam was low during the present quarter. Absorption of only around 57,500 sq ft was recorded and the rentals values remained stable. No fresh supply was introduced into the market, however there are a few projects in the pipeline expected to be completed in next
few months. The overall vacancy levels in this micro market continue to remain at about 2 – 3%. The Off / Non CBD micro market of MRC Nagar, Guindy and Taramani witnessed increase in demand for office space with absorption recorded at 0.17 million sq ft and 0.65 million sq ft in both IT and SEZ segments. Due to increase in leasing activity in the SEZ space, rental values witnessed an increment of 3- 4%. On the supply side, around 0.5 million sq ft of SEZ space was released into this micro market; vacancy level was around 4 – 5%. The Suburban Business District (SBD) including areas such as Velachery, Perungudi, Mount Poonamallee Road witnessed limited transaction activity with close to 0.13 million sq ft of office space being absorbed during the quarter. No new supply has been released and rentals remained stable.

Hyderabad
Hyderabad witnessed heightened levels of office leasing activity during the third quarter. Primarily driven by the IT / ITeS segment, the IT Corridor witnessed considerable increase in demand for office space as compared to the other micro markets.
The Central Business District (CBD) comprising of Somajiguda, Begumpet and parts of Banjara Hills (Road No. 1, 2, 10, 12) witnessed a marginal increase in demand for smaller format office spaces with absorption estimated at about 62,000 sq ft. Due to relocation of a large number of companies to the IT Corridor, around 74,000 sq ft of second generation space became available in this micro market, resulting in increase in vacancy levels between 13 – 14% in Q3
2011 from 10 -11% observed in the preceding quarter. However due to sustained interest, rental values remained at the same level as in the last quarter.
Office leasing activity in the Secondary Business District (SBD) of Ameerpet, Himayatnagar,
Sarojini Devi Road, parts of Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills remained dormant during the present quarter; rental values remained stable. The IT Corridor comprising areas of Madhapur, HITEC City, Gachibowli and Kondapur witnessed encouraging transaction velocity as compared to the other micro markets during this review period. Due to increase in demand for office space by IT / ITeS companies, absorption was recorded at around 0.15 million sq ft; however no fresh stock was added to the micro-market. Rental values in SEZ developments witnessed an increase of 3 – 4% over the preceding quarter.
The Extended IT Corridor comprising areas of Nanakramguda, Raidurg and Manikonda
Witnessed a marginal increase in demand for SEZ space primarily driven by expansion
requirements of IT / ITeS companies, consequently increasing the rental values by almost 5 – 6%. On the supply front, a new development added approximately 0.59 million sq ft of IT space in Nanakramguda. The new supply addition led to a steep increment in vacancy level from 15-16% in Q2 2011 to more than 28% in Q3 2011.

Pune
Around 0.1 million sq ft of IT space was released in the Central Business District (CBD) of MG Road, Koregaon Park, Bund Garden, Kalyani Nagar, Dhole Patil, FC Road and JM Road and absorption stood at around 57,000 sq ft during this review period.
Limited availability of commercial office space and increased demand led to a rental increment of 4 – 5%, q-o-q basis. The Off CBD micro market of Viman Nagar, Magarpatta, Aundh, Baner, Shanker Seth Road, S.B Road and Nagar Road remains the preferred destination for most companies due to its proximity to the central areas. Transaction velocity remained high with around 0.1 million sq ft absorption recorded in Non IT space while about 88,000 sq ft in IT / IT SEZ segment during this quarter. Around 0.3 million sq ft of 7 – 8%; rental values remained stable.

Kolkata
Office leasing activity in the Central Business District (CBD) of Chowringhee, B.B.D.Bag, Park Street and Camac Street remained low with absorption estimated at around 010,000 sq ft. No fresh supply came into the market and vacancy was in the range of.

By Accommodation Times (www.accommodationtimes.com)

By Nawaz Sayyed

We always desire to find out inner bliss, and seeking a retreat from the daily hectic schedule, mundane life. A place where you could relax, rejuvenate and experience life as a celebration.
A place where the elderly, the youth & the young one’s find solitude, Vadodara is ready to make reality your dreams.
As in the current scenario Gujarat has witnessed of huge growth in real estate sector. However, Indian real estate sector is not doing well from last couple of years due to high rise in property prices as well as home loan rates.
Contrary to this in Gujarat there is upsurge in housing demands. To fulfill the housing demands thousands of new projects are coming with affordable prices, particularly Vadodara the seventh largest city of India now has become the second fastest city across the country in development sector.
The city is flamboyant for its vibrancy and an attitude of celebrating life along with its spirit of entrepreneurship. A rising centre of education, information technology and scientific industries, Vadodara remains the cultural and commercial heart of Gujarat and much of western India. It is proving to be an ideal city for acquiring residential and commercial property due to excellent infrastructure that the city has and the kind of facility it offers.
The city, bestowed with all the features essential and ideal for growth, has seen some major developments take place. Key projects in the form of SEZs, hotels, integrated townships, gated communities as well as specialty townships such as financial products, townships and IT corridors have come up in a big way. The city is well connected, internally as well as externally through its elaborate transit systems, adding to its commercial value.
The contemporary state of real estate sector in Vadodara is increasing day to day even more in the near future. Moreover, real estate market in Vadodara offers a mix of product categories comprising of residential apartments, bungalows, twin bungalows, row houses, plotted schemes, farm houses, commercial as well as retail spaces.
The citizens of Vadodara are dreaming of “Swarnim Gujarat” Golden Gujarat and it will be reality as soon as Narender Modi’s vision for 2015 – BARODA will be completed.
Narender Modi’s vision for 2015 – BARODA comprises the following projects:
KAVI KABOI
> Silicon City coming up in Vagodiya towards Hwy NH8,
> Fabulous City Model houses displayed in ASSEMBLY – Gujarat on June 1, 2006
> Vadodara reaching for sky. It’s an 89 storey tower in SAYAJIGANJ Near Vishwamitri
> Area Satellite City in Vasana Gotri road
> Fertilizer Nagar Industrial Town with New City Model, 5 Km from Chhani
> New Township in Padra Village , 20 KM from Vadodara,
> Foreign Trade Center , HarniRoad, 7 Km from Vadodara,
> Film Nagar (city) at Ajwa Road , latest movie industry,
> World Tourist Place & Culture City , coming up in Ajwa-Nimeta Road,
> Gujarats’ Largest Theme/Amusement Park in Ajwa Garden, to be completed by 2015
> Childrens’ Park in near Kamatibaugh,prestigious project given to Switzerland to build

Comparatively with other metro cities property prices in Vadodara are still reasonable and affordable housing for Aam Admi is not a dream but reality.
Apart from the Narendra Modi’s Vision-2015 there are also several proposed projects will enhance the growth of region.
Proposed Infrastructure Projects:
> An investment of INR 19 billion (USD 452 million) is proposed under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban infrastructure projects in the city.
> Ring Road development is envisaged to be completed by 2010.
> A Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) is proposed to enhance existing public transport system.
> The Vadodara- Surat National Highway is expected to be completed by 2012.
> Vadodara airport is proposed to be developed as an “Aircraft Maintenance Hub” for the western part of India.

As far as transport and parking system concerns the city has three flyovers and railways under bridges each. The river Vishwamitri has 11 bridges interconnecting the city areas. The road network within the city is well developed in almost 70% of the area and caters to around 80% of the city’s total population. More than 80% of the roads are surfaced of which most of them are black topped while 19% of the roads are earthen.
Also, the increased vehicular population has resulted in increased vehicular traffic on the roads. The major roads and intersections experience traffic congestion during peak hours.

The year 2011 saw the Real Estate markets experience a rather sluggish trend as most home buyer’s preferred a wait & watch approach; awaiting housing prices to correct from their present levels. “The recent rate hikes in home loan interest rates and no clarity on approvals point of view have temporarily dampened market sentiments to a certain extent.” Lakshman Bhagtani, Chairman & Managing Director, Jaycee Homes Ltd. said.
Under construction buildings have not seen sales but ready possession stock have sold like hot cakes. On one hand the government wants to bring in a real estate regulator which is a good move but the regulator is completely one sided and against the developer. Material costs have also heavily escalated and inflation has not been in control either. So its been a mixed year for real estate. Not lot of positives but then every year cannot be merrier for real estate.
Predictions for 2012: According to the market players the current property market sentiments, I think home buyers will wait for another few months. Experts added that there will be too many interest hikes this time. Hopefully oil and petrol prices will be in control and that will bring in the cost down. Also approvals and the regulator will see the light in 2012 and which will make things much more clear for the real estate sector. So once these things happen we shall see costs coming down and which will be passed on to the buyers. According to the market predictions real estate industry can look forward to growth and prosperity in the year ahead.

2011: A slower than expected economic growth
Year 2011 witnessed many significant developments that impacted the Indian economy. Rising inflation, depreciating rupee Rupee value, decreasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers, low industrial production levels, declining foreign investments, ever increasing interest rates along with global uncertainties have been in the headlines throughout the year. Recently, the government has slashed its GDP forecast to 7.5%, compared to over 9% projected earlier for current fiscal.

Liquidity concerns remain a challenge for developers
During 2011,limited access to funds, increasing cost of debt and high construction costs remained a concern for developers. Private Equity (PE) investor’s expectations have gone sky rocketed due to difficulty in enforcing covenants, while the banks are already going slow on realty lending. Besides, foreign investors are skeptical about prevailing market sentiments post the European crisis and fallout of regulatory changes. RBI data shows, gross bank lending to real estate sector has grown by 11.6%, compared to 15.7%during the corresponding period last year. (Data as on October, 21) FDI figures too, portrays similar crunch with ~26%decline even on annualize basis.
Given the liquidity crunch, during 2011, developers have been going slow on execution resulting in construction delays and higher unsold inventories. As on September ’11, Delhi-NCR had the maximum unsold inventory levels of residential real estate at 102,758 units, followed by Mumbai Metropolitan Region (90,512 units), Bangalore (46,596 units) and Pune (40,734 units). Comparing Year on Year growth, Chennai and Bangalore have maximum piled up inventory at 52.7% and 41.2% respectively.
During 2011, developers have also gone slowly on fresh launches. Developers are still affected by regular regulatory bottlenecks like delay in project approvals and land acquisition related uncertainty (especially in Noida and Greater Noida).Hyderabad has registered the steepest yearly fall in fresh launches at 55%, followed by Pune (54%) and Navi Mumbai (50%).

Unsold Inventory: Steadily increasing across markets:

Unsold Inventory: Steadily increasing across markets:

*The absorption and new launch figures are average monthly figures for the respective quarters Data as on: 17th November, 11

*Data up to 21st October’11 NCR:
NCR: Gurgaon, Delhi,
Noida/Greater Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad
MMR: Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane

Buyers having their share of problems…
Affordability has been the biggestconcern for buyers. During 2011, RBI has continued its stance of keeping the policy rates high and has announced 7 rate hikes in the year. Collectively,RBI has now hiked its key policy rates 12 times, aggregating 375 basis points since March 2010.Thebanks have responded with similar hikes in lending rates. Inflation, however still remains high at9.11% for November 2011.
Also, buyers have been expecting a price correction which hasn’t happened delaying their buying decisions.As the graph below depicts, major residential markets across India have witnessed a steady price rise. Infact, in markets like Gurgaon and Mumbai prices are already surpassing pre-crisis levels of 2008. Gurgaon has seen the maximum price appreciation (21.4%), followed by Mumbai (13.2%) and Pune (12.5%).

Developers have been reluctant to reduce prices due to the tight liquidity situation.Also because of increasing inflation, the cost of construction has increased over time for developers. Developers have come up with alternate strategies including other funding sources (e.g. private equity), disposing off non-core assets, loan restructuring, varied promotional schemes, and more focus on quick selling plotted development to generate sufficient cash flows.

Thus, given the above concerns for developers and buyers, gross absorption across major markets have declined significantly over the past year.

Absorption levels (units) taking a nose dive:

Wind of regulatory changes
The sector saw many events which had both political and social impact for the nation. The Noida Land Acquisition problem, demand for separate state for Telangana in Andhra Pradesh, land scams like Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society, LIC Land scam have been events which will mark the start of fresh reforms in the sector.

The Central Land Acquisition Bill
During 2011, a revised version of the “National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation & Resettlement Bill, 2011” was unveiled. The basic objective of the policy is to offer comprehensive rehabilitation package for land owners, including those primarily dependent on land, and regulations for smooth land enforcement.

Central Land Acquisition Policy: Key Features
• The government can acquire land for its own use or for private companies for public purposes
• Consent of at least 80% of the affected families is required except when the land is acquired for Strategic purposes, Infrastructure and industry, Natural calamities, Rehabilitation and resettlement and Land for railways, highways, ports, power and irrigation
• Compensation:2x/4x of the original market value of the land in Urban and Rural areas respectively.
• 20% of the appreciated land value within 10 years to be shared with the original owner
• For those, losing their jobs, mandatory employment for one member per affected family, or Rs 2,00,000
• The provisions are applicable when land acquired is more than 100/50 acres in rural and urban areas

Impact: The enforcement of the bill will make the process of acquisition of agricultural land more transparent and regulated for all stakeholders. But this cannot be denied that land value would escalate for the developer, thereby increasing the project cost.

Real Estate Regulation Bill: 2011
The unrest in Greater Noida by farmers over higher compensation for their land being acquired by real estate developers acting as a starting point for the Real Estate Regulation Bill. The draft Bill has currently been made available for public comments. The bill aims to curb on fly by night developers, facilitate transparency, consumer protection against developer’s malpractices, and encourages fair practices in the sector. Under the act, a regulator would be set up, with which developers will register their individual projects, make commitments regarding project completion, specifications, and possession.

Outlook for 2012
The near term outlook for residential real estate market is likely to remain cautious, given the likelihood of low market sentiments. Key market indicators including absorption and new launches are likely to remain low given the execution concerns. Developers may focus on execution and delivering the committed projects in 2012 rather, than launching slew of new projects to avoid insurmountable inventory overhang.

11major cities: Actual space delivered Vs. future commitments

In terms of prices, the pace of appreciation may be marginal because of low sales volume and even decline. Decline could however, be developer specific and may be a result of factors including price holding capacity of the developer (depending on the debt level and working capital availability), future projects in the pipeline etc.
RBI has hinted that reversal in policy is on the cards as inflation is expected to decline in the next few months, but benefits from this possible rate cut would come with a lag.
However, for those having enough cash, time is ripe as developers are ready to negotiate on prices.
By Accommodation Times (www.accommodationtimes.com)

*By Alok Deshwal, PIB

Wood has been used for centuries as a common material in construction of buildings and other structures. Similarly Bamboo has a long and well established tradition for being used as a construction material throughout the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. With the rising global concern, bamboo is a critical resource as it is very efficient in sequestering carbon and helps in reduction of Green House gas emissions.

In the modern context when forest cover is fast depleting and availability of wood is increasingly becoming scarce, the research and development undertaken in past few decades have established and amply demonstrated that bamboo could be a viable substitute of wood and several other traditional materials for housing and building construction sector and several infrastructure works. Its use through industrial processing have shown a high potential for production of composite materials and components which are cost-effective and can be successfully utilized for structural and non-structural applications in construction of housing and buildings. Main characteristic features, which make bamboo as a potential building material are its high tensile strength and very good weight to strength ratio. It can withstand upto 3656 Kg/cm2 of pressure. It can be easily worked upon by simple tools and machines. The strength-weight ratio of bamboo also supports its use as a highly resilient material against forces created by high velocity winds and earthquakes. Above all bamboo is renewable raw material resource from agro-forestry and if properly treated and industrially processed, components made by bamboo can have a reasonable life of 30 to 40 years. Though natural durability of bamboo varies according to species and the types of treatments. Varied uses and applications in building construction have established bamboo as an environment-friendly, energy-efficient and cost-effective construction material. The commonly used species in construction are Bambusa balcooa, Bambusa bambos, Bambusa tulda, Dendrocalamus giganteous, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Dendrocalamus asper, etc. Bamboo, a highly versatile resource and widely available, is being used as an engineering material for construction of houses and other buildings. Some of the application areas of bamboo in building construction are Door Shutters, Flooring, Shuttering and Scaffolding and Roofing Sheets etc. A number of small and medium sized demonstration structures have already been constructed during past few years. These have shown very good performance in different climates. In order to propagate use of bamboo in housing and building construction for wider application, awareness and confidence building amongst professionals and householders is required. This calls for organized actions on prototyping, demonstration, standardization aimed at improving acceptance levels and promoting appropriate construction practices.

The Government recognizes housing sector as a medium to generate more employment by strengthening production activities of environment-friendly and cost-effective building materials. As the housing and building construction industry is one of the largest consumers for natural mineral resources and forests, it is increasingly realized that innovative building materials and construction technologies which offer potential for environmental protection, employment generation, economy in construction and energy conservation, need to be encouraged as best options to meet the rising demand of housing in different regions of the country. Nearly 60 percent of the country’s area being prone to natural disasters like earthquakes, cyclones, floods etc, the Government Policy also lays emphasis on promoting design and construction of disaster resistant technologies for housing. Construction techniques using bamboo as main material have been found very suitable for earthquake resistant housing.

Building materials accounts for nearly 60 to 65% of the cost of house construction. With the constant rise in the cost of traditional building materials and with the poor affordability of large segments of our population the cost of an adequate house is increasingly going beyond the affordable limits of more than 30-35% of our population lying in the lower income segments. This calls for wide spread technology dissemination and availability at decentralized locations of cost-effective building materials and construction techniques.

Bamboo being a highly versatile resource and widely available needs to be adopted as an engineering material for construction of houses and other buildings. In order to propagate these for wider application, awareness and confidence building amongst professionals and householders is required. This calls for organised action on prototyping, demonstration, standardization aimed at improving acceptance levels and promoting appropriate construction practices. One of the key objectives of the National Mission on Bamboo is to promote value added products which are being commercially and industrially produced. Demonstration projects based on bamboo applications will help in creating high visibility for use of bamboo as a material for housing construction. Once the demand is built up, investment from entrepreneurs will automatically flow to enhance availability of bamboo based materials and components.

Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) under Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, is actively involved in developing bamboo based technologies and to promote these technologies in the North-Eastern Region and other bamboo growing areas, by setting up of Bamboo Mat Production Centers for processing of bamboo, encouraging commercial production of bamboo based products, construction of demonstration houses etc. The Council is also engaged in providing training to the local artisans in processing of bamboo.

The BMTPC in collaboration with Indian Plywood Industries Research & Training Institute (IPIRTI), Bangalore, have jointly developed a technology for manufacturing of Bamboo Mat Corrugated Sheet (BMCS) which is durable, strong, water-proof, and decay-insect-fire resistant. The commercial production has been started at Byrnihat, Meghalaya. The product has been accepted by the consumers and is becoming increasing popular as a roofing option in the north east part of the country. It is estimated that in full capacity this unit will generate livelihood for nearly 7000 women/ men (through mat weaving) in rural regions where bamboo is abundantly grown.

BMTPC has undertaken construction of 10 demonstration structures, each, using bamboo based technologies in Mizoram and Tripura. These include houses, OPD buildings, Library buildings, Picnic huts, Schools, etc. The cost of construction is considerably reduced by 25% to 30% using bamboo based technologies for different types of structures as compared to conventional construction. During constructing various types of structures local contractors, masons, artisans were provided training on use of bamboo in building construction. The specifications used are:

• Treated bamboo columns and beams,
• Ferrocement walls on bamboo grid reinforcement,
• Treated bamboo trusses, rafters and purlins,
• Bamboo mat board in wooden frames for door shutters,
• Bamboo mat corrugated roofing sheets,
• Locally available wood for door & window frames
• IPS flooring, etc.

BMTPC, in cooperation with Cane & Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC), Guwahati and State Governments, is establishing two Bamboo Mat Production Centres each in the States of Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and Meghalaya. The main objectives of Bamboo Mat Production Centres are to provide uninterrupted supply of bamboo mats to the manufacturing units of bamboo based building components for increasing the productivity, quality, to provide training in mat production process and to create employment opportunities in the North Eastern region. In the first phase, the Council is setting up Bamboo Mat Product Centres at Kowaifung, Tripura; Sairang and Bualpui, Mizoram and Sokhar Nongtluh Village, Meghalaya. The Council has already completed establishment of Bamboo Mat Production Centres at Kowaifung, Tripura and Sairang, Mizoram. The Council in cooperation with CBTC is also providing training on bamboo mat production to the artisans from each Bamboo Mat Production Centres. The production capacity of each production centre will be 300 mats per day. It is estimated that the each Centre will be able to produce the mat at the rate of Rs.35 per mat and would be able to sell at the rate of Rs.45 per mat. This will provide employment generation of nearly 150 women/men per day i.e. 45,000 women/ men days per year per Centre. Besides the above, the Centres can also generate income by supplying bamboo sticks made out of bamboo waste, to the artisans for making handicraft items. The mats produced by Bamboo Mat Production Centres are likely to be utilized by various manufacturers who are producing Bamboo Mat Corrugated Roofing Sheets, Bamboo Mat Boards etc.

As the property market of Mumbai is facing downturn from last several months due to the rising prices of properties and increasing home loan rates. So realtors are moving to Navi Mumbai. “In the recent past people were used to say that Thane and Navi Mumbai is far from the city and yet not developed but now home buyers are setting their eyes on Navi Mumbai projects” sources said.
CIDCO and Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) have played the major role to develop Navi Mumbai. CIDCO adopted polycentric pattern of planning and development of Navi Mumbai. It prepared a master plan in October 1975 and was approved by the government in August 1971. It is being modified from time to time as per the needs. The pattern ensured balanced land and even distribution of residential areas, job centres, wholesale markets, non-polluting industry and population density.
The 14 self-contained nodal townships are strung along the mass rapid transport corridors, designed to minimise travel time and distance between nodes and neighbouring cities. The major wholesale markets and industrial belts are evenly distributed in outer areas. Intervening nodes are for predominantly residential settlements. Each node is self-contained with educational health, social, religious, cultural, sports and recreational facilities.

There are several major projects on which CIDCO is working as follows;
Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA)
Enhancement in aviation facilities in Mumbai is absolutely essential for keeping the leadership of Maharashtra in attracting Foreign Direct Investment thereby creating a place of pride for itself and add to the prosperity of its people. Therefore a second airport in the Mumbai Region has become imperative, as the existing airport at Mumbai, is fast reaching saturation level. To meet the growing demand of air travel CIDCO is soon going to develop a new airport.
The location of the proposed airport at Navi Mumbai has been considered on several parameters. Prominent among these is the fact that Navi Mumbai is expected to absorb the future growth in population, business and commercial activity of the region. The availability of physical and social infrastructure coupled with environmental friendly site with minimum resettlement and rehabilitation makes the Navi Mumbai airport project technically and financially viable.
The airport would be one of world’s few ”greenfield” international state-of-art airport offering world class facilities to passengers cargo, aircrafts and airlines.
The site of airport is located in an area of 1140 hectares accommodating two parallel runways for independent parallel operation with provision of full length taxi ways on either side of the runways. The airfield has been designed to accommodate the new large aircrafts compatible to aerodrome code 4-F, conforming to specifications of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The growth in resident population in Navi Mumbai, rapid development of its Central Business District, coupled with economic activities such as Special Economic Zone, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Thane-Belapur and Taloja industrial areas and the huge catchment area ranging from Pune to South Mumbai would assure a steady growth rate in traffic at the new airport, thus assuring steady revenues to the investors. In addition the project opens-up the state’s vast hinterland rich in agriculture, floriculture, hi-tech high value industries to world market. Thus making the airport to act as a focal point for emergence of a transshipment centre in the Asian region.

Kharghar Hill Plateau
Even Kharghar also acting as key role in developing Navi Mumbai as there are several forthcoming residential and commercial projects are under process. While taking accountability in the SEZ too the Kharghar Hill Plateau, an emerald-green, serene and picturesque expanse, sits in the heart of Navi Mumbai. Situated at an altitude of about 200 m MSL, the Kharghar Hill Plateau is a part of the Sahayadri hill ranges of the Western Ghats. The undulating terrain of this area offers both challenges and opportunities to planners to develop it into an attractive and premium area, literally a jewel in the crown of Navi Mumbai. The area on the Kharghar hill plateau admeasures about 150 hectares (ha) of which about 100 ha is in CIDCO’s possession and available for development. Since Kharghar, has been developed into a modern township with state-of-the-art infrastructure and important city-level developments like the formation of a special economic zone, an airport, a golf course, and a central park, the time is ripe to initiate a radical transformation of the hill plateau.
After Central Park at Kharghar and Urban Haat at Belapur, another welcome addition to the ever growing list of city level facilities in Navi Mumbai now will be the Golf Course project at Kharghar. The corporation has decided to develop a signature Golf Course of international standards in Sector – 22 of Kharghar Node. The proposed Golf Course shall spread over an area of 103 ha. approx. and will be located just across the Central Park in Sector-23, 24 & 25 of Kharghar.

NAVI MUMBAI SEZ
With the EXIM policy introduced by Government of India (GoI) in the year 2000, the concept of Special Economic Zone came into being as a duty-free industrial enclaves aimed at following objectives.
a) Exports Promotion.
b) Additional Economic Activity.
c) Investment Promotion both domestic & foreign direct investment.
d) Infrastructure Development.
e) Creation of job opportunities.
CIDCO mooted an idea of setting up of SEZ over an area of 4377 Ha in Navi Mumbai in the year 2000, which was concurred/recommended by the Government of Maharashtra (GoM) & a proposal was put up to GoI for approval.
GoM declared CIDCO as Nodal Agency to set up SEZ in Navi Mumbai.
The GoI accorded approval-in-principle to GoM/CIDCO’s proposal of setting up Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone over an area of 4377 Ha in February 2002.
The GoM directed CIDCO to implement the NMSEZ project through Joint Sector Venture & further directed that the Strategic Partner/Investor to be selected shall hold majority stake. (GR No.CID/3302/715 Pra.Kra 93/UD-10 dt.11.09.2002).
As per the directives of the Govt. of Maharashtra, CIDCO through Global bidding process selected a Preferred Bidder/Strategic Investor Consortium, which formed a company named M/s. Dronagiri Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. (DIPL) & the said company is registered under Companies Act 1956.
DIPL & CIDCO together have created/established a Special Purpose Company (SPC) in the year 2004 named M/s. Navi Mumbai SEZ Pvt. Ltd. (formerly known as M/s. Navi Mumbai SEZ Development Company Pvt. Ltd.) with 74% & 26% stakes in the SPC, respectively.
Shareholders Agreement executed
Development Agreement executed
As per Development Agreement NMSEZ project area is 2140 Ha.
1.1) The SPC has the right to plan, design, construct, market, operate & maintain, administer & manage the Navi Mumbai SEZ. SEZ will under control of Development Commissioner.
1.2) CIDCO has uptill now handed over 1842 Ha NMSEZ project area to the company detailed below.
1.3) The SPC is entitled to the status of Special Planning Authority under Clause No.40 of MRTP Act 1966.PROPOSED INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC ENCLAVE AT AIROLI The International Diplomatic Enclave project is conceived by CIDCO with a view to facilitate the consulates of various countries to set up their office in Navi Mumbai to engage in mutually beneficial collaborations with the of Indian citizens along with plots proposed for world class institution providing added value to the project .
This project has been designed keeping in mind the stringent requirements of providing a world class atmosphere in an extremely safe enclave with the provision of Infrastructure, security, utilities and communication facilities.
The project is located on 28 ha plot jutting out in Thane creek at sector 10A Airoli. The site is situated just south of the Airoli Bridge near Thane. It is accessible from the Eastern Express Highway and the Thane Belapur Road which connects to the Mumbai Pune Expressway M/s Apostrophe were appointed as consultants to render Professional Consultancy services for Comprehensive Planning, urban and Landscape designing of the area.
The Project Site Area is 27.3 Ha. (68.25acres). The Total Site Consideration Area is approximately 40.2 Ha. (100.5 acres) approximately, including the Eco-Preserve Area to the West of the project site and the Arterial road/ Promenade proposed on the East side of the site. Plots for embassies have been carved out of area range of 2500sq.m.to 4000sq.m. to be made available to foreign countries on a first-come first-serve basis. The individual Consulates will have a lot of flexibility in the design of their Consulate. Plots have also been earmarked for institution use for institutes of national & international acclaim.

Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL)
Owing to ever increasing congestion on the existing rail and road corridors coupled with limitation of further expansion on these corridors, there is a need to expand the city on the mainland across Arabian Sea by providing additional access from Mumbai to mainland at South Navi Mumbai.
The development initiatives proposed in the Southern Navi Mumbai region will not only give rise to additional traffic movement but also accentuate the need for greater economic integration of Mumbai with mainland. The proposed economic activities taken up for development in the southern Navi Mumbai are -

• International airport at Navi Mumbai.
• New container terminals at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust at Nhava Sheva.
• Navi Mumbai SEZ (NMSEZ).
• Maha Mumbai SEZ (MMSEZ).

The proposed additional access i.e. Mumbai Trans Harbor link (MTHL) Connecting Sewari (Mumbai end) to Nhava Sheva (Navi Mumbai end) is expected to be catalyst of development of the city by promoting horizontal growth as against the vertical growth experienced over the past few years. The link will help reduce the problems of congestion and pollution in Mumbai.
The Mumbai Trans Harbor Link (MTHL) is proposed to be developed as an Expressway link with a six-lane dual carriageway road bridge and rail bridge connecting Sewri on Mumbai side to Nhava on Navi Mumbai side. The MTHL project is proposed to commence at grade from the east side of Sewri Railway Station on the Harbor Line of Central Railway proceed to Nhava and terminate at the north of Chirle village with an interchange to National Highway 4B on the mainland.

The development of project is envisaged as follows -

Phase I
Construction of main bridge with 6 lane facility from Sewri to Nhava including approaches at grade near Sewri end, interchange at Nh4B near Chirle village and underpasses at road and railway crossings. The length of MTHL road project from Sewri to NH-4B is 22 KM.

Phase II
Dispersal System at Sewri connecting Eastern Freeway and Acharya Donde Marg to MTHL (Sewri interchange).

Phase III
Construction of Metro rail link from Sewri to Nhava and from Nhava to MMSEZ area near Pen, to Panvel via proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport and to Uran.

Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC)
Is nodal agency appointed by the Government of Maharashtra to implement this project. The development of phase I component is under bidding process and work is likely to be awarded soon. For remaining phase, the necessary studies have been commenced and same will implemented subsequently.