Pimpri-Chinchwad: Pune’s Satellite City Coming Of
Age..!
by Mr. Alok Jha, Manager – Research, JLL India
Infrastructure, economic generators and quality
housing supply will trigger PCMC’s housing market in the coming quarters
The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation or
PCMC, a twin city to Pune and one of India’s most prominent industrial hubs, is
strengthening its economic prowess by adding sophisticated manufacturing and
information services along its periphery, in Chakan and Hinjewadi respectively.
Demand drivers for real estate in the region –
Strategic location, affordable real estate, activity magnets like the Chakan
industrial area, development of the IT cluster at Hinjawadi, good connectivity,
strong road network and excellent physical and social infrastructure
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| Alok Jha, Manager – Research, JLL India |
The transformation process
As any city matures, land and property prices go
up. With the increasing price of real estate, the cost of living also goes up –
and with the city corporation ending tax subsidies, not all industries can
sustain growth. Industries need to move up the value chain to prosper, while
others have to modernise or even relocate. Such a trend is being observed in
the Pimpri-Chinchwad area.
Various companies have unlocked their land to invest
money back into their core business, which has provided an opportunity for real
estate development – a few examples being Mahindra and Mahindra, Elpro,
Premier, Crompton Greaves and Indian Card Clothing Co Ltd.
Real estate scenario
The Pimpri-Chinchwad area has become one of the
most vibrant real estate destinations in the past few years. It has come closer
to Pune in terms of being accepted as a residential destination instead of
merely being a decent suburb, and it is on its way to becoming a
self-sustaining satellite city. Developers are coming up with some large,
quality residential projects in this area which are proving to be very
attractive for the citizens of Pune.
In addition, the number of colleges this
market is home to has prompted demand for rental housing, and hence this area
has been on the radar of investors too. Also, the presence of a number of
retail developments/malls and commercial projects is beneficial for the area.
Prominent retail projects in the area are City One Mall, Plaza Centre and
Megamart.
Visionary infrastructure projects are a big pull
factor for real estate in the Pimpri-Chinchwad area, and one of the major
demand drivers for real estate. Ongoing infrastructure developments such as the
Bus Rapid Transit System and the proposed international convention centre have
given a boost to real estate development in the region.
Hinjewadi, which is one of India’s premier IT
clusters, is located in close proximity to Pimpri-Chinchwad. Nearby areas such
as Wakad, Pimple Nilakh, Ravet and Pimple Saudagar, have benefited immensely
from the demand generated by employees working in the Hinjewadi IT cluster.
Pimpri-Chinchwad will continue to benefit from further development in
Hinjewadi.
While Pune continues to battle with the slow pace
of infrastructure execution, Pimpri-Chinchwad is already passing on the benefits
of visionary urban planning to its residents.
However, to sustain growth and attain maturity to
remain capable of offering a good quality of life, the anticipated growth needs
to be fuelled by local, central and state level government policies envisioning
the city’s prospects and then implementing the proposals and interventions
swiftly. The city also needs to tackle issues of irregular structures, and
there needs to be more stringent execution of laws for not allowing illegal
structures to be built again.
In addition, there is still a strong perception
of the area being suitable for lower and mid-segment housing, but not premium
housing. This perception could have something to do with the industrial zones
nearby. However, this perception is slowly changing, with many manufacturing
firms relocating to other industrial areas and a few quality residential and
commercial projects being developed.
All in all, it is likely that the residential
market in Pimpri-Chinchwad will attain a multifaceted character offering
properties across different price points. High-end residential property, which
was missing here for long, is now poised to grow the fastest – and reasonable
land costs will allow developers to experiment with the creativity of the built
form.
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