Navi Mumbai – The Next Big Thing

August 11th, 2015 Posted by Sohan

Mumbai, long past its Bombay days, has now become India’s richest most promising city, contributing to greater than 6% of the country’s economy. It has also been said that Mumbai would have been even more successful if the city would have infrastructural amenities requisite in proportion and capacity. The modern metropolis not only claims that it owes a more advanced and superior infrastructure but also that the argument put forward against increasing Mumbai’s floor space index (FSI) was its calamitous infrastructure. It being true that an increased FSI would result in making Mumbai denser along particular areas, this proposal deserves closer attention. However, the developing costs of better infrastructural technology will be overshadowed by the positive effects of affordable commercial and residential estates due to a raised FSI.

Important metropolitan cities of the world indulge in what is popularly known as a “ring road” or a “rapid arterial road” – this enables residents of the city to commute from one part of the city to another. Sadly, Mumbai does not boast of this. Multiple urban policy makers have noted that off all the subsections only Thane and Navi Mumbai are the areas where urban advancement is possible. The dearth of an expanding network of connecting roads makes it difficult to venture into these areas. The lack of an adequate transportation grid will make it impossible to extend the contribution of urban land in Mumbai.

Decades earlier Navi Mumbai was heralded as a city of the equal size of Mumbai, to deconfine the South. 1970 was the year that the state government founded the City Trial Development Corporation (CIDCO) to promote Navi Mumbai. Nevertheless, forty years later in 2011, the official Census report exhibited that the population of Navi Mumbai was merely 1,119,477. It is only now that concerned officials admit that there was never a clear and concise plan for the development of Navi Mumbai. Despite that, it has been growing vociferously in the recent past. Due to the economic reforms of the 90’s along with the ever-growing connectivity of major areas of the city via railway network has led to the development of Navi Mumbai. It is important to note here that it was with the building of the Markhurd-Belapur rail link and the Vashi(Creek) Bridge that Navi Mumbai first gained its access to the main city for the first time.

Nonetheless, this has been changing for some time now. The Central Govt. has put forward the proposal to connect Mumbai Highway, Creek, Bandra, Sea Link and Nariman Point via a ring road at a cost of 90,000 INR. CIDCO is also aiming at connecting the International Airport (NMIA) with the Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) Bridge, to make the airport directly accessible through a coastal road. The International Airport is said to generate mass employment and large scale investment. Expanding the Railways and Passenger Water Terminal are also among the projects to be ventured soon.There are also other initiatives which are unlikely to be realized imminently. The Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), a 11,000 crore endeavour might not realize completion by 2019 as it was earlier expected.

The MTHL is assumed to reduce commute timing between Navi Mumbai and South to 30 minutes and increase access to the proposed airport. Being a port city, it is difficult to increase the land supply except for perhaps through bridges and ferries linking the peninsula and main land. Completion of construction will allow vehicles to travel at over 60 km/hr over the MTHL Bridge. Major cities with bridges have reversed the liability of peninsular location into an asset.

Mumbai too will soon be such a city with Navi Mumbai benefitting most.Navi Mumbai, in the opinion of urban policy experts, along with policies beneficial to growth will lead to Navi Mumbai growing faster than any other areas. A report of the PropTiger Data Labs has established that despite the languishing markets of real estate, it would soon be rejuvenated as the land acquisition disputes regarding the Greenfield airport were dissolved in 2014. Environmental regulations and restrictions having detained construction, NMIA construction is due to start in 2016.Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport has long reached its absorption level. It would be an impediment to upgrade the airport and to prevent from congestion an alternative airport must be built in Navi Mumbai. CIDCO estimates that the impetration for travel by air would grow from 30 million passengers in 2012-2013 to over 100 million passengers by 2030-2031 in the politan gion. NMIA is one of the world’s largest “Greenfield” international airports. It is over 2866 acres, established by CIDCO on a Public-Private Partnership. It is expected to employ over 3.4 lakh people for jobs and possesses an attractive investment of 60,000 crore.

Over 600 acres comprising 270 villages and 6 talukas, CIDCO has decided  to promote residential growth via Airport Influences Notified Area (NAINA). It is said to improve the connectivity between Eastern and Western areas. Micro markets Kharghar and Dronagiri are supposed to benefit crucially from such a venture.

The Two Growth Corridors of Kharghar and Dronagiri

Real Estate prices will rise in Dronagiri, Ulwe, Panvel, Kharghar and Taloja due to the MTHL Bridge. The Multimodal passage from Virar to Alibaug that will intersect NAINA is what is most likely to raise the prices. Western Suburbs and Navi Mumbai will be connected to the Island City by the Passenger Water Transport (IPWT). Railways are to improve correspondence between Navi Mumbai and Mumbai Suburbs. Providing an alternative rail network of Navi Mumbai will sequentially lead to an increment of real estate prices in Belapur, Kharghar, Taloja, Navade, Kalamboli, Kamothe, Karanjade and Panvel.

Kharghar and Dronagiri have been now afflicted with a rising inventory. This should provide discounts to home-buyers. Residential units in such areas will soon be realized as an attraction for real estate investors. Though residential property for Panvel is most in demand, Taloja, Ulwe and Kharghar will soon catch up to Panvel in the coming days.

Taloja and Kharghar possess strong infrastructural facilities. Both areas are accessible through

transportation networks. Taloja boasts of the most affordable residential properties. It will imminently be the closest region to the upcoming airport. Despite the slow growth in new launches, the apartments in Taloja Kharghar have been rising.

Due to an inventory overhang over the last few years, Kharghar has been facing a reduction in sales. Dronagiri-Ulwe, another growth depot has seen rising prices despite a reduction in the number of launches.Though sales have slowed down the inventory overhang seems to be manageable. This is most likely to change when the airport and other infrastructural ventures are completed, which is hopefully not too far away.

Future Prospects

Real Estate Investors are expected to earn by gaining high yields by investing in residential units in Navi Mumbai. Experts say that Navi Mumbai is well ahead of micro markets such as Island City, Thane and Western and Eastern Suburbs. The market had been languishing earlier due to the long delay of land acquisition for the airport. The non-existence of such constraints now and the completion of other infrastructural endeavours would soon result in the increase in prices of real estate.