Indian Real Estate Set To Rise High On Explosive Growth In Infrastructure

By: Sanjeev Arora, Director, 360 Realtors

India is aggressively investing in infrastructure growth with many high-profile projects underway. The country is building bandwidth across logistics & mobility, industrial corridors, urban development, power & utilities, etc. By 2047, India aims to become a developed nation with concentrated efforts to boost its infrastructure.

India’s infrastructure boom is also fueling demand for real estate, besides improving productivity and economic wellbeing. Often large-scale projects such as airports or freight corridors are associated with new townships, residential communities, retail & commercial centers, etc., spurring realty growth. Likewise, big infrastructure projects also create new jobs, which naturally translates to increased real estate growth.

Below are some of the major infrastructure projects to watch out for in 2024

Mumbai Trans Harbor Link: India’s largest bridge which stretches 21.8 km will connect South Mumbai with Navi Mumbai, via a six-way lane. The project which is built under MMRDA is nearly 96% complete and will be operational soon. It will reduce the commute time between South Mumbai and Navi Mumbai to 20 minutes, (35-40 mins during peak hours) and make the newly built international airport and JNPT port more accessible. While residential and commercial markets in Navi Mumbai will get a shot in the arm, second homes & related categories will further pick in Alibaug, Karjat, Ratnagiri, Panvel, etc.

Western Dedicated Freight Corridor: WDFC which emanates from Dadri in UP will start operational in 2024. The 1500 km corridor will connect UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. It will result in faster, more reliable, and better freight transport between the states, thereby also steering commercial, warehousing, and industrial activities. Besides JNPT where it concludes, WDFC is also linked to Kandala and Mudra Ports via feeder lines.  WDFC is an emboldened step towards sustainable growth as it will shift a sizable part of freights from roadways to railway networks reducing carbon footprint. WDFC will boost real estate activities in numerous markets including but not limited to Dahej, Mehsana, Rewari, Marwar, etc.

Jewar Airport: The second international airport of NCR will be operational in 2024 with a tentative volume of passengers to the tune of 6.5 million. In another 20-25 years Jewar airport will manage ~70 million passengers yearly and probably be the largest airport in India. The mega project will bring a tectonic shift in the real estate demand of Noida, Greater Noida, and Yamuna expressway. It will also enhance accessibility to neighboring tourist hubs of Vrindavan, Agra, Bharatpur, Jaipur, etc. Alongside the airport project, logistic hubs, electronic parks, textile clusters, aerocity, retail & hospitality projects, the Olympic complex, etc. will be developed, thereby bringing spotlight to the entire region.

Bangalore Chennai Expressway: The 262 km long Bangalore Chennai expressway is set to be unveiled by the end of the year 2024. The much-awaited project will be part of the wider Bangalore- Delhi corridor. It will reduce the travel time between Bangalore and Chennai to ~ 3 hrs (currently around 7 hrs). It will also speed up connectivity between Bangalore and Pune & Mumbai. The mega project will traverse through Karnataka, AP, and Tamil Nadu and bring 20.9 million residents closer.

Kolkata- Bangkok Expressway The 2800 km trilateral expressway will connect Kolkata to Bangkok via Myanmar. The Thailand portion of the project is already complete. The mega project will seamlessly connect eastern India and Northeast with Asian economies and steer bilateral trade and the flow of tourists. It will also boost connectivity between Kolkata and key cities in North East India.

** Views expressed in this article are author’s personal and do not reflect the opinion ‘Realty & More’.