C K Prahalad, the late management guru, had once prophetically said that Pune was ?blessed? with a unique position to leverage the changes that were unfolding around it. He was referring to the ?holy? combination of growth sectors like education, IT and manufacturing that had the true potential of making the city a convergence ?mecca?.
Prahalad?s vision of the city had not been without any merit. Of the total PE investments of $ 276 million that the country?s real estate sector received in the first half of 2013, Pune received the highest share of $131.6 million, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
Last month, US billionaire Donald Trump tweeted the launch of Trump Towers Pune, his group?s real estate foray into India. The luxury apartments are expected to be completed by 2015 and, if market reports are anything to go by, only a handful of units are up for grabs in the project that comprises 46 luxurious condominiums of 6,100 sq ft each, with a host of services tucked in.
Pune?s real estate growth story has been exponential. ?Growing incomes, a greater focus on investment and the continued strengthening of business sectors like IT and ITeS, automotive and engineering companies, a rise in migration of people from other cities, and education have all contributed to the changing face of real estate in Pune,? says Vishwajeet Jhavar, CEO of Marvel Realtors.
The hospitality sector, too, has joined the party. The Pune Marriott Hotel & Convention Center was recently upgraded and converted into the super-luxury brand, JW Marriott Hotel Pune. This is only the third JW Marriott in India, which is part of Marriott International?s luxury portfolio.
?Last year, Pune saw 55% overall occupancy and this year, in the first half itself, the figure has catapulted to 63%,? says Jatin Khanna, GM of JW Marriott Hotel Pune. Hyatt Regency has two properties running on the same road, barely a kilometre separating them. Hilton Hotels & Resorts recently opened the Hilton Shillim Estate Retreat & Spa, its first leisure property in India, in Pune spread over 320 acres. The R400-crore resort and spa project will have 99 villas.
According to Ravi Ahuja, ED, Western Region, Cushman & Wakefield, Pune is seeing action in two corridors?eastern and western. While development is picking up pace in the western corridor, comprising Aundh, Baner and Wakad due to the Hinjewadi MIDC IT Park, the growth sphere is now stretching about 40 km towards the Subroto Sahara Stadium along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, adds Ahuja.
This is the multiplier effect of the job creation at Hinjewadi where the big names of the IT world, from TCS, Infosys and Wipro to Cognizant and Tech Mahindra, have opened up campuses and employ close to seven lakh people.
Pune has also seen a growth of large integrated townships that have come under Maharashtra government?s Special Township Act, which requires projects to have a minimum of 100 acres of land. Around eight townships are in the pipeline. The Amanora township, Nanded City, Blue Ridge, Kumar Urban Development?s townships have progressed and expanded residential offerings in the city.
The Pune region, comprising largely the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) areas together, has a population of around 50 lakh and is growing at a rate higher than the national average. The GDP in the PMC areas during 2011 was pegged at R60,000 crore, as per the 2013 Pune Environment Status Report. In the late 90s, while PMC merged 38 villages into the corporation, PCMC merged 18 villages into the city. This stretched the boundaries of the Pune city areas in all directions by 10-15 km.
However, there has been a slow movement when it comes to Pune?s physical infrastructure, says Rohit Gera, MD, Gera Developments. ?We need better sanitation and rainwater harvesting facilities, apart from absence of perpetual problems like loadshedding. The draft budget of R3,248 crore presented by the municipal commissioner recently for projects under the JNNRUM, which include a bus rapid transit system (BRTS), Metro, water supply, storm water management, drainage system and housing, among others, is however an extremely encouraging sign,? adds Gera.
Global connectivity is also a distant dream, as the proposed international airport at Chakan-Rajgurunagar is still on the drawing board. ?Air traffic in Pune has grown from about one lakh travellers a year in 2005 to around 35 lakh at present. It has so far grown at 30% every year, barring in 2012-13 when it grew at 15%, which is still better than the negative growth nationally,? says SK Jain, president of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture.