A host of infrastructure projects are in the pipeline for Maximum City, which promise to make life easier for its residents. How many of them actually materialise remains to be seen, but in anticipation oscillate things as diverse as people?s hopes and real estate prices
Nikhil Kashyap, a Versova resident, commutes to Churchgate in south Mumbai daily for work, spending nearly R2,000 a month on the trip from his residence in the western suburbs to his office. But it?s not the money he is hassled about; it?s the painfully long trip to reach Andheri station midway that gives him daily nightmares. However, with the first phase of the Metro expected soon, his trip to Andheri would take just ten minutes and cost about R10! ?The Metro will save me both money and time, which is most precious in Mumbai,? says Kashyap. As for the onward travel to Churchgate, well, Kashyap would just have to wait for better connectivity there!
Anticipating the convenience of travel, residents are also ready to forgive the almost two-year delay in Line 1 of the Metro from Versova to Ghatkopar, being built by Reliance Infrastructure. Work on the first three kilometres of the 11.4-km elevated tracks is complete and expected to open to the public in September. The final stretch of 8.4 km from Andheri to Ghatkopar is expected to be operational by December-end, which will cut travel time on this route to 21 minutes from the present 90 minutes by road.
Lines 2 and 3 of the Metro, however, are still a pipedream. While Line 2 is stuck due to pending environmental clearances, Line 3 is an idea still on paper.
Moving south to Colaba, commuters in a few days can hit Navi Mumbai in a little over 30 minutes driving down the 16.8-km Eastern Freeway. The final stretch, though, will take till December. The drive will save commuters 30 minutes; the signal-free road will also ease traffic on the Mumbai Port Road, providing quicker connectivity between the island city and its eastern suburbs.
By the year-end, Mumbaikars can also drive down the 6.5-km Santacruz-Chembur Link Road?now four years behind schedule?which would cut travel time by half. That apart, the first 8.8 km of the monorail connecting Wadala with Chembur will be ready in August.
?Each project has got its plus points and will help in majorly reducing travel time for people. But then there are also pockets that are overcrowded and navigating those areas still remains a challenge,? feels Keki Mistry, vice-chairman and CEO, HDFC Ltd, who is based in the city. He feels the Bandra-Worli Sea Link is the best thing to have happened to the city so far. ?There is a lot of traffic congestion when you get off the bridge, but the reduced travel time makes it all worthwhile.?
Besides time, money and efficiency, Santosh Kamath, partner, KPMG, feels better connectivity will also gradually result in a more even population distribution from congested areas to other parts of the city. That also means a positive impact on real estate.
Adds Adi Godrej, chairman, Godrej Group, ?A lot of our real estate projects are coming up along the route of some of these projects. For instance, the Eastern Freeway and monorail will be good for our Vikhroli and Chembur projects. The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link will do well for the Panvel project.?
Ashutosh Limaye, head of research, Jones Lang LaSalle India, also feels that new projects will open up new areas and geographies in the city. As for prices, he says because of the Eastern Freeway, property prices in Chembur have seen a jump of 25% to R15,000-R25,000 per sq ft. Price appreciation to the extent of 25% in residential rates has already happened in Andheri when the Metro project was coming up.
Interestingly, he adds that delays in projects leads to a see-saw effect on real estate prices, giving the example of how when the Navi Mumbai Airport was announced, prices in Ulwe in Navi Mumbai (in close vicinity to the proposed project) appreciated 16-17%. But when the government said the airport might get delayed by a year or two, prices crashed in the same range. Similarly, when the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link was announced two years back, prices in Sewri, which is one side of the link, crossed R30,000 per sq ft.
But then, the MTHL is one project that has seen many ups and downs. Under consideration for the past 30 years, bids for the 22-km link that connects Sewri in south-east Mumbai to Nhava in Navi Mumbai have got delayed again. The project will cut the current distance between island city and Navi Mumbai by 17 km and reduce travel time by one hour.
Sums up Abhaya Agarwal, leader (infrastructure & PPP ), government practice, Ernst & Young India, ?Delays in projects have led to a significant overrun on costs and also inconvenience to the public, which should be tackled with better coordination among government departments. Also, going forward, it is imperative that more projects in Mumbai are funded from user fee and not just real estate. There should be holistic planning on these projects from the perspective of urban mobility, as they are good for the economy, and not just short-term planning from the point of view of financial viability.?