As the real estate sector surges ahead in the country, new formats are being introduced by developers in a bid to offer something new as well as stay afloat in this period of slowdown. One of the more lucrative formats being the concept of new age, world-class amusement parks-cum-malls. There are around 150 parks in India, with 10-15 coming up over the next few years. Worth Rs 3,000 crore, the industry has been growing at 25% per annum over the last five years, according to industry experts.
While a world-class amusement park has already come up in Rohini in Northwest Delhi by the name of Adventure Island, the company behind it, IRPPL (International Recreation Parks), is also planning to open the much-hyped Entertainment City in the heart of Noida by the year-end. The Entertainment City, spread over 150 acres and being set up at an investment of Rs 1,100 crore, represents a new class of parks that are under construction or are being planned around the country. The Adventure Island, on the other hand, is spread over 62 acres and has been built with an investment of Rs 200 crore.
Larger, better and with the costliest ?rides? around, they reflect a change in not only how park operators and real estate developers think about amusement parks, but also how state governments perceive them. Other upcoming projects include two planned by ISKCON, one at Vrindavan at an investment of Rs 1,000 crore and spread over 600 acres of land and the other at Bangalore at an investment of Rs 350 crore. The themes for the two parks would revolve around the stories of Krishna. The religious theme is held in common with a Rs 100 crore park being promoted by the Saagar family at Haridwar. Revolving around the epic Ramayana, the park to be called ?Ganga Dham? will be situated on the banks of the Ganga.
Chandigarh too will be getting its own mega park in the next three years. To be developed and operated by Unitech, the park would be spread over 73 acres and have an initial investment of Rs 250 crore. The south too hasn?t been immune to the action with the WonderLa park on the outskirts of Bangalore. Built over 83 acres and promoted by the V-Guard group, the park has already been in operation for a year.
As far as the scope of the sector goes, Ravi Madan, Director, IRPPL says, ?The business potential is enormous. What we have seen up till now are low-standard and low-cost amusement parks, but now the trend is more in favour of internationally-styled, world-class parks. And if malls accompany these parks, it also results in impulse retail and merchandise.?
Adds Ranjeev Kalia, DGM Sales & Marketing, Ansal Buildwell, ?Amusement parks add up value to the real estate sector. These parks provide a complete entertainment package to people, leading to an increase in the footfalls of the commercial projects located within the complex. That?s why more and more builders are introducing amusement parks in or adjacent to malls.?
But, can amusement parks become one of the key drivers of the real estate growth in times to come? Says Kaushik Sengupta, VP- Sales & Marketing, Eros Group, ?In fact, amusement parks have already become a key driver in the growth of real estate and will reach even greater heights in times to come. With the opening of the economy and multinational companies entering into joint ventures with their Indian counterparts, real estate development is bound to gain with such collaborations.?
Adds KP Singh, DGM-Marketing, Pearls Infrastructure Projects Pvt Ltd., ?Seeing the current development in the residential, commercial and retail real estate industry, the need for growth for amusement parks has risen and the increasing demand of the market definitely is leading to its growth. Because of the huge demand, developers are bound to build them. Amusement parks should receive due recognition for their enormous potential as an infrastructural facility for tourism. In terms of employment generation, the new parks are likely to create jobs. In short, it would be one of the major reasons for the growth of the real estate industry leading to the growth of the economy as a whole.?
But, does the coming up of an amusement park affect the real estate prices in the vicinity? ?Definitely,? says Madan citing the example of Disneyland, which after its development changed the face of real estate in Florida for all times to come. ?If such projects are built in suburbs, then they do give a fillip to the area. A similar trend was seen in Rohini, when after the announcement of our project, realty ratesdid go up by 10-15%,? he says.
Adds Rakesh Gupta, Managing Director, RPS Group, ?The prices of the surrounding real estate surely shoots up with the commencement of the amusement parks. Additionally, the prices of surrounding areas rise thereby leading to an overall increase in the standard of living of people. Even for tourists, this place seems to be more entertaining considering the fact that it boasts of having good infrastructural facilities and service apartments.?
So, what is the future of amusement parks in India? Is there any possibility of Disneyland ever setting shop in India, considering that it is scouting for a location in China at the moment? Says Madan, ?The infrastructure in India is not ready to host Disneyland. Though we are moving towards it, it will be only three-five years down the line that we will be able to match the standards of the biggest amusement/theme park of the world.?
Adds Arindam Kumar, General Manager, Marketing & Retail Sales, Mapsko, ?The future is very bright and we would be in a position to witness many parks in near future, provided improved technology and international specifications and standards are implemented to beat the existing competition prevailing in the country.?