Ghaziabad hottest destination in NCR
Proximity to Noida, Delhi makes Ghaziabad hottest destination in NCR
Las Vegas, London and now — hold your breath — Ghaziabad! The wild west of UP is now up there among the 10 most dynamic cities of the world. A Newsweek survey, which put the city on the global map, happened in 2006 and since then Ghazibad has been hip and happening. In two years, it has done a complete makeover by adding malls, hi-tech cities and golf courses to its new face.
Location Capital Rate* Rentals*
Vaishali 7,500-12,000 67-110
Kaushambi 5,000-9,000 45-80
Indirapuram 8,000-15,000 70-135
City core 8,000-11,000 70-100
Raj Nagar 7,000-11,000 60-100
Source: JLLM * (INR per sq ft)
Developed as the industrial hub of Uttar Pradesh, Ghaziabad has come a long way from being called the poor cousin of Noida and Gurgaon in the NCR. “The fact that private developers can buy land directly from farmers in Ghaziabad, unlike in Noida and Greater Noida, helped the city score over others,” says Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) secretary Raj Kumar Sacchan. Big developers such as Shipra Estate, Emaar MGF, Sun City, Gaursons, Uppal Chaddha Group, Parsvnath and Landcraft are now betting big on the area. “The city’s turnaround started a few years back when the cash-strapped GDA auctioned large tracts of land in Indirapuram to private builders. Today, that money is being deployed to provide world-class infrastructure and quality living to the whole area,” he adds.
But the city has grown also because of the spillover effect of industrialisation in Noida and Greater Noida. Not only does Ghaziabad attract the IT/ITeS workforce from neighbouring Noida but it is also a cheaper residential and investment option for Delhi-bound commuters. “Proximity to Noida and Delhi is what attracted us to Ghaziabad,” says Shipra Estate, the biggest developer in Ghaziabad, managing director Mohit Singh .
“We will build more flats in Indirapuram and double the Shipra Mall capacity to little less than a million sq ft. Two five-star hotels are also being planned in the area,” he adds. To meet rising demand, developers are planning to pump huge amounts into various projects — residential and commercial. Uppal Chaddha Group and Sun City have got clearance for developing 1,500-acre hi-tech city each in the southeast part of the city.
Crossing Republik, a Rs 6,000-crore integrated city being set up over 360 acres by seven developers along NH-24, is being labeled as India’s first global city. Licences have been given for 10 integrated cities in the last six months, says a GDA official.
Some analysts warn of a demand-supply mismatch too. But Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj chairman and country head Anuj Puri disagrees. “Though, there seems to be oversupply, the absorption rate is equally high, at 99%. Areas such as Indirapuram, Vaishali and Vasundhara have already been occupied. The occupancy is higher along NH-24 up to Hapur,” he says. “Ghaziabad has huge potential for development since it has a large piece of unexplored land,” adds Parsvnath COO B P Dhaka.
Commonwealth Games has also triggered action in infrastructure, retail and hospitality. GDA is all out to promote setting up of guest houses and hotels to cash in on the tourist inflow. Two more five-star hotels, one on the Delhi-UP border, are likely to come up in the city. Supertech and Gaursons have evinced interest in the projects, says the GDA official. The state government is also trying speed up the Metro link to Ghaziabad and build 10 flyovers in the city. At present, the city boasts of 16 malls, seven in Kaushambi alone, but the number is likely to cross 30 by 2010. The new GDA Masterplan 2021 includes 970 acres of SEZs, IT hubs (1,300 acres) and institutional hubs (1,200 acres).
Despite the burst of activity, lot of spadework needs to be done in the power-starved state, but the realty majors are upbeat. “Infrastructure—power, water and roads—would substantially improve with public-private partnerships,” says Landcraft Developers director Manu Garg.
Las Vegas, London and now — hold your breath — Ghaziabad! The wild west of UP is now up there among the 10 most dynamic cities of the world. A Newsweek survey, which put the city on the global map, happened in 2006 and since then Ghazibad has been hip and happening. In two years, it has done a complete makeover by adding malls, hi-tech cities and golf courses to its new face.
Location Capital Rate* Rentals*
Vaishali 7,500-12,000 67-110
Kaushambi 5,000-9,000 45-80
Indirapuram 8,000-15,000 70-135
City core 8,000-11,000 70-100
Raj Nagar 7,000-11,000 60-100
Source: JLLM * (INR per sq ft)
Developed as the industrial hub of Uttar Pradesh, Ghaziabad has come a long way from being called the poor cousin of Noida and Gurgaon in the NCR. “The fact that private developers can buy land directly from farmers in Ghaziabad, unlike in Noida and Greater Noida, helped the city score over others,” says Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) secretary Raj Kumar Sacchan. Big developers such as Shipra Estate, Emaar MGF, Sun City, Gaursons, Uppal Chaddha Group, Parsvnath and Landcraft are now betting big on the area. “The city’s turnaround started a few years back when the cash-strapped GDA auctioned large tracts of land in Indirapuram to private builders. Today, that money is being deployed to provide world-class infrastructure and quality living to the whole area,” he adds.
But the city has grown also because of the spillover effect of industrialisation in Noida and Greater Noida. Not only does Ghaziabad attract the IT/ITeS workforce from neighbouring Noida but it is also a cheaper residential and investment option for Delhi-bound commuters. “Proximity to Noida and Delhi is what attracted us to Ghaziabad,” says Shipra Estate, the biggest developer in Ghaziabad, managing director Mohit Singh .
“We will build more flats in Indirapuram and double the Shipra Mall capacity to little less than a million sq ft. Two five-star hotels are also being planned in the area,” he adds. To meet rising demand, developers are planning to pump huge amounts into various projects — residential and commercial. Uppal Chaddha Group and Sun City have got clearance for developing 1,500-acre hi-tech city each in the southeast part of the city.
Crossing Republik, a Rs 6,000-crore integrated city being set up over 360 acres by seven developers along NH-24, is being labeled as India’s first global city. Licences have been given for 10 integrated cities in the last six months, says a GDA official.
Some analysts warn of a demand-supply mismatch too. But Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj chairman and country head Anuj Puri disagrees. “Though, there seems to be oversupply, the absorption rate is equally high, at 99%. Areas such as Indirapuram, Vaishali and Vasundhara have already been occupied. The occupancy is higher along NH-24 up to Hapur,” he says. “Ghaziabad has huge potential for development since it has a large piece of unexplored land,” adds Parsvnath COO B P Dhaka.
Commonwealth Games has also triggered action in infrastructure, retail and hospitality. GDA is all out to promote setting up of guest houses and hotels to cash in on the tourist inflow. Two more five-star hotels, one on the Delhi-UP border, are likely to come up in the city. Supertech and Gaursons have evinced interest in the projects, says the GDA official. The state government is also trying speed up the Metro link to Ghaziabad and build 10 flyovers in the city. At present, the city boasts of 16 malls, seven in Kaushambi alone, but the number is likely to cross 30 by 2010. The new GDA Masterplan 2021 includes 970 acres of SEZs, IT hubs (1,300 acres) and institutional hubs (1,200 acres).
Despite the burst of activity, lot of spadework needs to be done in the power-starved state, but the realty majors are upbeat. “Infrastructure—power, water and roads—would substantially improve with public-private partnerships,” says Landcraft Developers director Manu Garg.